Southwick Priory and Old Fishbourne
For roughly four hundred years, from the twelfth century to 1538, the Manor of Old Fishbourne was held by the Augustinian canons of Southwick Priory. Their stewardship represents the longest continuous period of documented ownership in the manor's history.
Foundation at Portchester Castle
Southwick Priory was originally founded inside the walls of Portchester Castle in Hampshire, around 1128 to 1133. Portchester is the most complete Roman fort surviving in northern Europe, built as part of the Saxon Shore defences in the late third century AD. By the twelfth century, the Norman kings had constructed a castle within one corner of the Roman walls. The priory was established in the opposite corner, within the outer bailey of the castle, sharing the ancient enclosure with the garrison.
The house was established for Augustinian canons, also known as the Black Canons from the colour of their habits. The Augustinians followed the Rule of St Augustine and combined monastic life with pastoral work in the surrounding communities. They were not cloistered in the same way as the Benedictines or Cistercians; their vocation was outward-facing, serving parish churches and engaging with the lay population.
The Move to Southwick
Around 1150, the community relocated from Portchester Castle to a new site at Southwick, a few miles to the north. The move was likely prompted by the practical difficulties of sharing a military enclosure with a royal garrison. A priory needed peace, space for agriculture, and room to grow. Portchester Castle, with its military function and royal visitors, was not an ideal setting for a contemplative community.
At Southwick, the canons established a more substantial priory with a church, cloister, dormitory, refectory, and the associated domestic and agricultural buildings that sustained a medieval monastic house. Over the following centuries, the priory accumulated a considerable portfolio of lands and manors across Hampshire and Sussex, granted by local lords and gentry in return for prayers for the souls of the donors and their families.
The Grant of Old Fishbourne
Turstin, son of the Domesday tenant Engeler, granted his inherited lands at Fishbourne to the Prior and canons of Southwick. A twelfth-century charter records the grant in Turstin's own words: "all my lands of Fisseborn, namely that which King William gave to my father Engeler." The charter is notable for its explicit reference to the Domesday-era holding, linking the priory's acquisition directly to the original Norman grant.
The motivation for Turstin's gift is not recorded, but it would have been typical of the period. Grants of land to religious houses were understood as acts of piety, securing spiritual benefits for the donor and his family in exchange for the earthly wealth of the land itself. The priory would have been expected to pray for Turstin's soul and those of his ancestors in perpetuity.
Priory Holdings at Old Fishbourne
An inquiry held in 1280 confirmed the extent of Southwick Priory's holdings at Old Fishbourne: a messuage (a dwelling house with its outbuildings and adjacent land) and two hides of land, valued at ten pounds yearly. This was a modest but productive working estate, generating a reliable income for the priory.
In 1320, a grant of free warren was recorded for the priory's demesne lands at Old Fishbourne. Free warren was a Crown franchise, a royal privilege giving the holder exclusive rights to hunt certain small game on their own land. The species covered typically included hares, rabbits, pheasants, and partridges. The grant confirmed the priory's lordship over the estate and its demesne lands, and it indicates that the Crown recognised the priory's established presence at Old Fishbourne.
The Augustinian Order in England
The Augustinian canons were the most numerous of the regular orders in medieval England. By the time of the Dissolution, there were over 170 Augustinian houses across the country. They differed from monks in important ways. Monks took vows that bound them to a single monastery for life. Canons were ordained priests who could serve in parish churches, act as chaplains, and move between houses. Their rule was more flexible, their engagement with the outside world more direct.
Southwick Priory's canons would have served local churches, provided hospitality to travellers, cared for the sick, and managed the priory's agricultural estates. At Old Fishbourne, they would have employed a bailiff or reeve to manage the day-to-day running of the land, collecting rents and overseeing cultivation.
The Wider Priory Estate
Old Fishbourne was one of many holdings in Southwick Priory's portfolio. The priory held lands across Hampshire and into Sussex, including properties at Stubbington, Colemore, and elsewhere. The income from these scattered estates supported the priory community and its works. Like most religious houses of its size, Southwick maintained careful records of its holdings, though many were lost or dispersed at the Dissolution.
The Dissolution (1538)
Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries, carried out between 1536 and 1540, was the largest act of institutional destruction in English history. Roughly 800 religious houses were closed, their lands and buildings seized by the Crown. The process was managed by Thomas Cromwell, the king's chief minister, through a network of royal commissioners who visited each house, inventoried its possessions, and arranged the surrender.
Southwick Priory was surrendered to the Crown in 1538. The priory's lands and manors, including Old Fishbourne, were absorbed into the royal estate. The canons were dispersed, some receiving small pensions, others finding positions as parish clergy. The priory buildings were partly demolished and partly converted for private use.
Two years later, in 1540, Old Fishbourne was granted to Anne of Cleves as part of the settlement following the annulment of her marriage to the king. The grant described it as "the manor" of Old Fishbourne, the first time that designation appears in the record.
Southwick House and D-Day
After the Dissolution, the priory site at Southwick passed through several private owners. A country house was built on the priory grounds, incorporating some of the medieval fabric. By the twentieth century, the estate was known as Southwick House.
In 1940, the house and its grounds were requisitioned by the Royal Navy. In the spring of 1944, Southwick House became the advance headquarters of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) for the planning and execution of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, used Southwick House as his forward command post. It was here, on 5 June 1944, that Eisenhower made the decision to proceed with the D-Day landings despite uncertain weather. The room where the decision was made is preserved, with the original wall map still showing the disposition of Allied and German forces along the Channel coast.
Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, who commanded the naval component of the invasion, had his headquarters in tunnels beneath nearby Fort Southwick. General Bernard Montgomery, commanding the land forces, was based in a caravan in the grounds of Broomfield House, adjacent to Southwick Park.
The connection between the priory and D-Day is a coincidence of geography rather than a planned historical thread. But it means that the religious house which held Old Fishbourne for four centuries occupies the same site from which the largest seaborne invasion in history was launched.
Portchester Castle Today
Portchester Castle, where Southwick Priory was originally founded, survives as one of the most remarkable historical sites in southern England. The Roman walls, built around 285 AD as part of the chain of forts defending the Saxon Shore, still stand to their original height in places. The Norman keep, built by Henry I in the 1120s, occupies the north-west corner. The site of the original priory church, in the south-east corner of the Roman enclosure, is now the parish church of St Mary. It has been in continuous use as a place of worship since the twelfth century.
The castle is managed by English Heritage and is open to visitors.