West Firle
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West Firle or Firle is a village in the Firle civil parish within the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is located south of the A27 road 6 miles (9km) east of Lewes.
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[edit] Firle Place
The largest attraction is Firle Place, the historic seat of the Viscounts Gage. The parcel of land is first mentioned during the reign of Edward the Confessor, when it was recorded as owned by the Abbey of Wilton. After the Battle of Hastings, the land (along with nearby Pevensey Castle) was presented as a gift to the Count de Mortain. Ownership of the manor (then known as the Manor of Heighton St. Clere) later passed to the de Lyvett (Levett) and Bolney family during the 14th and early 15th centuries, until Agnes Bolney married William Gage of Sussex. Their son, John Gage inhereited more of the surrounding estate lands when his wife Eleanor's father (Sir Thomas St. Clere) died in 1446.
In 1479, the second John Gage was born. Later a Knight of the Garter, Captain of the Royal Guard, Constable of the Tower, and Vice-Chamberlain to King Henry VIII, Sir John Gage constructed the manor house and named it Firle Place. In 1713, Sir William Gage, 7th Baronet inherited the estate and had Caen Stone installed around the structure. In 1744, Firle Place was inherited by the Irish-born Thomas Gage, who had been created 1st Viscount Gage in the Peerage of Ireland in 1720 and who remodeled the building in 1744–1754. During World War I, students from the nearby Southover School in Lewes were housed here, and during World War II, Canadian soldiers were quartered here. Firle Place is currently owned by Nicolas Gage, 8th Viscount Gage.
[edit] Famous people
During the 16th century, the Gage family bred the greengage - a plum that now bears their name. General Sir Thomas Gage, who fought for the British at the start of the American Revolution was born in Firle. His namesake, Thomas Gage was a botanist of small fame, after whom the Gagea was named.
Writer Virginia Woolf visited nearby Lewes in December 1910 and decided to relocate in Firle, where she rented a house renamed Little Talland House. Pointz Hall, a fictional manor from her novel Between the Acts, is believed to be inspired by Firle Place. Woolf's sister, painter and interior designer Vanessa Bell, moved to Firle in 1916. The bodies of Bell, her son Quentin Bell, and her lover Duncan Grant are all buried in Firle Churchyard.
Writer Katherine Mansfield lived in Firle for a brief time. Her landlord was economist John Maynard Keynes, who moved to Firle himself in 1925 and died there in 1946. Keynes was cremated and his ashes scattered above the downs of nearby Tilton.
[edit] Cricket
Firle also boasts a thriving Cricket club playing in the Cuckmere League. The club dates back to July 20, 1725 when Sir William Gage challenged the Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond to a game. Firle's local derby match is with the nearby village of Ringmer.
[edit] Firle Bonfire Society
The Bonfire Night celebrations are presided over by the Firle Bonfire Society (FBS), which has the current cultural bête noir as its guy. In 2004 they sparked controversy by burning a caravan full of pretend Gypsies in effigy. Members of the Firle Bonfire Society parade as Valencians.
[edit] Village Life
Firle still has a traditional post office and shop with the obligitary red telephone box. The Ram inn is the local ancient pub.
[edit] External links
