The history of Saddlescombe Farm

With a recorded history here over thousands of years, take a moment to learn about all the important steps that Saddlescombe and its people have taken in shaping the farm and community that we see today in this downland hamlet.

Image of Domesday text relating to Saddlescombe
Saddlescombe Farm and Newtimber Hill   West Sussex

Saddlescombe Farm in the Domesday Book

Domesday Book was the result of a huge valuation survey, but what was important then was very different from what we would like to know now. Find out what was recorded as Saddlescombe Farm.

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Colour recreation of a downland village and landscape from the 14th century
Saddlescombe Farm and Newtimber Hill   West Sussex

The Knights Templar and Saddlescombe Farm

The Knights of the Order of the Temple were founded to protect Christian pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land after the Crusaders re-captured Jerusalem. Saddlescombe Farm was given to the Templars in the 1220s by Geoffrey de Say who was the Fifth Earl of Warenne's tenant.

Read more about this fascinating part of Saddlescombe's history
Early 1900s image of oxen and farm workers in field
Saddlescombe Farm and Newtimber Hill   West Sussex

Saddlescombe Farm history: 1500 to 1800s

Saddlescombe Farm has a rich history from its earliest Stone Age settlement through its its use as a mixed farm today.

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Photo of Maude Robinson as a child
Saddlescombe Farm and Newtimber Hill   West Sussex

The Robinson family at Saddlescombe Farm

In 1853 Martin Robinson from Surrey came to Saddlescombe as tenant farmer under the Petworth Estate's ownership. His daughter, Maude, wrote a brilliant history of her life on the farm which gives a rich account of life on the South Downs.

Discover Victorian life on a South Downs farm