Beechwood

Beechwood is a Grade II* house originally serving as the Rectory, built in the 18th century, possibly designed by architect James Lewis for James Sargent MP in 1794, coinciding with the construction of Lavington Park. The house was altered in 1939 by Sir Edwin Lutyens. It features two storeys and an attic, with five windows and one hipped dormer. The exterior is faced with roughcast, colourwashed pink, and has an eaves cornice and a hipped slate roof. The two easternmost window bays on the south front are slightly recessed, and both this section and the main part of the house are flanked by chamfered stone quoins. The glazing bars are intact. At the east end, there is an octagonal ground floor room topped with a ball cap at the apex of its roof, which was originally an embrasure leading out of the Hall but was converted into a separate room by Lutyens. The porch, featuring square wooden columns likely added by Lutyens, includes a veranda to the east between the porch and the octagonal projection. The north or garden front mirrors the south front, except that the two westernmost window bays are recessed, accompanied by a recessed portico on the ground floor. Lutyens made these alterations for his daughter, Mrs. Barbara Wallace, later Mrs. Herbert Agar, and he lived in the house for a time after the renovations. The house is historically significant for its association with Reverend Henry Manning, later Cardinal Manning, who resided there from 1833 to 1851 while serving as Rector of East Lavington and Graffham and Archdeacon of Chichester. He married Caroline, the third daughter of the previous Rector, Reverend John Sargent, and Mrs. Manning is buried in East Lavington Churchyard. The house is graded for its historical interest.