Minstead Manor

Seat of the Compton family from c.1513 until the death of Henry Francis Compton (1872-1943). Bowden-Smith: ‘This pretty park and house have always belonged to Squire Compton. ... While we stayed at Fleetwater [in 1838], we saw the rhododendrons being planted in Minstead Manor, rows of tiny small shrubs.’ In 1921 Compton sold off about 700 acres of the estate: according to the 1923 directory it had ‘a park of 400 acres’. In 1944 the estate of ‘over 600 acres’ was for sale in 46 lots. 1949 there was a demolition sale: mahogany, pine and deal doors; window sashes and glass; oak and hardwood flooring; stone flagging in and around the exterior of the house; central heating boiler and copper tank; the Crossley oil engine, dynamo and equipment; oak and hardwood staircases; stone plinth and copings; cupboards and oak bookcases; three strong-room doors; lead, soil and waste pipes; about 100 feet Hamhill stone balustrading. A LARGE QUANTITY OF LEAD ON THE ROOF, including some silver lead, together with al arge quantity of BRICKS, SLATES and TIMBER, forming the fabric or shell of the house, together with sheds and the various outbuildings.