Compton Place: A Historic Gem in Eastbourne

Located on the western fringe of Eastbourne, just south of the Old Town and the A259, Compton Place is a historic estate that has been a part of the town's landscape for centuries. The original north to south line of the road can be seen on the estate map of 1739, which also features a plan dated 1783. This suggests that the road was diverted eastwards in 1782, and the site has remained largely unchanged since then.

The house at Compton Place occupies the level valley floor, with the land rising gently to the near horizon on its north side and more steeply and quickly on its south-west side. The estate is situated at the east end of a shallow, north-east-facing valley, which is enclosed by the lowest slopes of the South Downs.

The site's eastern boundary was once marked by the Way to the Bourne, a road that was diverted eastwards in 1782 to unite the detached walled garden with the remainder of the grounds. Today, a block of flats called Saffrons Court separates the registered site from Compton Place Road, which runs along the eastern boundary.

To the south, a concrete and pebble-faced wall marks the C20 boundary with the housing development of Saffrons Park, begun on land sold in 1983. To the north and west, the boundaries open immediately onto the Royal Eastbourne Golf Club course, defined by a flint-walled ha-ha that is likely to be of early C18 origin.

Compton Place has a rich history, with elements surviving from the C18 associated with Charles Bridgeman and Lancelot Brown. Humphry Repton also prepared apparently unexecuted proposals for the estate in a Red Book. The site features a garden with formal C19 features, making it a unique and fascinating piece of Eastbourne's heritage.

For more information on Compton Place, please visit the National Heritage List for England (NHLE).

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