1708

History

 

It was in 1708 that the estate of Herstmonceux for the first time exchanged owners by purchase. The new possessor was Mr. George Naylor, of Lincoln's Inn, who paid £38,215 for the whole estate, castle and manor. … The heir of Mr Naylor's estates was Francis Naylor, the son of his sister Bethia who had married Dr. Francis Hare.

1713

Born

4^th June 1713

Christened

At St. Martin, Ludgate, in London

1775

Died

1775 to 1797

History

 

The bishop resided for some considerable time at Herstmonceux Castle, but his son Francis Naylor, entirely neglected his venerable mansion, so that when upon his death in 1775, it devolved upon his half-brother, The Rev. Robert Hare, the bishop's son by his second marriage, the whole building was in such a state of decay, that the expenditure of a very considerable sum was required to put it into habitable repair. The building was surveyed by Mr. Samuel Wyatt in 1777, and pronounced by him to be so dilapidated, that it was judged expedient to demolish the interior of the castle, and employ the materials in building new rooms to the mansion-house on the west side of the park. His advice was unhappily followed; the new house, for such in point of fact it became, was erected with the spoils of Roger Fienes' venerable mansion. However much we may find to commend in the arrangements of the modern house, and in the beautiful proportions of the apartments, we shall all, I think, agree that Mr. Wyatt's raw white stucco is but a poor substitute for Roger Fienes' mellow red brick, and mourn over the destruction of so magnificent a pile, as indeed a national loss, the more to be lamented, as it is utterly irreparable.