Alfriston Clergy House

The house in early summer.

Alfriston Clergy House in Alfriston, Polegate, East Sussex, England, was the first property to be acquired by the National Trust. It was purchased in 1896 for £10.

The house is a 14th-century Wealden hall house. Although the name reflects the fact that the parish priest and his housekeeper used it, the house was originally built as a farmer's house. It is a very modest property — not at all like the grand rectories that many Church of England clergy occupied by the 19th century. It is a low-ceilinged, two-storey, timber-framed building with a thatched roof. Part of the house was rebuilt in the 17th century. It has a rare chalk and sour milk floor. Outside there is a small but well-planted cottage garden.

The house is open to the public.

External links

• Alfriston Clergy House information at the National Trust

Detail of cornice wood carving of an oak leaf, which may have inspired the National Trust's emblem.