Moulsecoomb - Bevendean History Project

Photograph of Benjamin Rogers-Tillstone, the owner of Moulsecoomb Place, on a horse-drawn carriage with his family, possibly at the entrance to the estate, in the 1890s.

Henry VIII granted the Tithes of Moulsecoomb to Lady Anne of Cleves in 1541 hence the probability that the old tithe barn was in situ at this time.
In 1629 Thomas Humphreys bequeathed in his will that "forty shillings per annum out of the tithes were to be given to the poor of Brighton.
The tithe barn has suffered from alterations and been reroofed with slates.
Inside there is an oven with “G.R.” moulded on the cast iron door.
The tithe barn is probably Tudor and the west end is the oldest now.
The timbers used were recovered from a wreck of one of the ships in the Spanish Armada.

In 1662 Richard Webb took possession of Moulsecoomb Place and it is reputed that he may have been the builder of the house.
In the latter part of the Eighteenth century, Benjamin Tillstone held Moulsecoomb Place and it was alleged that in 1790 he superimposed a facade of the “Georgian Italian” style on the house but this is now believed to be untrue because the house was not in his possession at that time. New accounts reveal that he purchased the copyhold messuage, one stable, two barns, two small crofts/gardens, four yards of land and fifty eight acres at an auction held in the "New Ship" Brighton on 9th January 1794. The first reference to the house was in a document of Reformed Land Tax in 1799.

The house is of different dates having been extended and altered at different times. The kitchen and adjoining rooms probably date from the latter years of the seventeenth century.

There is a ghost in the house which has been seen on different occasions and is supposed to be a friendly omen. The Grey Old Lady was known to the late owner's family as Lady Catherine Sedley - the only child of Sir Charles Sedley. She married Sir David Colyer later to become Lord Portmore in 1696 and was for some length mistress to James II. When James II died, it was decreed, "she should either go out of the country or retire permanently into the country, she would be competently provided for." The late Catherine Sedley referred to above was the owner of Moulsecoomb Place for a short while.

Mr. H. F. Rogers-Tillstone, M.A. read a paper to the Sussex Archaeological Society in September 1928 referring to the ghost as being a woman who was murdered and thrown down the well.

Benjamin TILLSTONE (1752 - 1829) was most energetic and successful owning one thousand acres of adjoining land. He had a ship building yard at Shoreham and his brother was a Captain.
The fine brass alarm bell dated 1806 or "Tocsin" used to hang in a small turret but now is in the museum in Church Street.

The Rogers family were great friends of Benjamin Tillstone and when he died; his will stated that whoever of the Rogers family inherited the estate, the surname was to be changed to Rogers-Tillstone. When John Jefferies-Rogers (1794 - 1863) died another relative, Catherine Sedley inherited the estate although she died shortly afterwards. Benjamin Tillstone-Rogers (son of John Jefferies-Rogers) inherited estates in Kent and Sussex including Moulsecoomb Place and when he died in 1899, the estate remained in the Tillstone-Rogers family. Tillstone Street in Brighton is named after the family. A mortgage was raised for the sum of £5,600 in 1903 but there is evidence of a twenty year lease to Mr. H. Edmunds in 1913.

The barn connects with the house on the first floor and the lower part of the barn was used to house two cars, workshops and carpenters shop.
There were three wells, two of which still remain. One is near the kitchen and is seventy five feet deep and the other is located under the quince tree near the barn at a depth of two hundred feet.

The canopy at the front of the building no longer exists but was replaced by a conservatory.
This in turn was demolished and the music room built with additional living accommodation above in 1906.
There is a window over the southern entrance inscribed "19HE13" which confirms the commencement of Mr. Edmunds tenancy.

From the particulars drawn up by Wilkinson, Son and Welch in 1926 when selling the property, Moulsecoomb Place was describes as following.
On the ground floor one finds a wall, study/morning room, drawing room with parquet flooring and white marble period fireplace, dining room and music room fitter with an electric organ and exclusive deep bay windows. French casements lead to a long heated conservatory and the floors are laid in polished oak.
Domestic offices include kitchen, servants hall and cellar.
There are twelve bedrooms reached by two staircases, five bathrooms, dressing rooms and cupboards the thickness of the walls.

On the 31st March 1927 the Tillstone family conveyed the property to the Brighton Corporation and the lease was surrendered upon payment of compensation.

The entrance to Moulsecoomb Place in the early eighteenth century was a four roomed lodge house. This was occupied until the late 1950's when it was demolished to make way for the new library. The present conservatory is a recent extension.

The house was used as an elementary school and partly as the Parks Department offices.

Later a branch library occupied some of the upper floor and then moved to the music room.


Front elevation of Moulsecoomb Place in 2014, viewed from the Lewes Road.

Today the house is used by Brighton University, with the exception of the west wing occupied by the Moulsecoomb Social Club in the lower part.