Tuesday 30 January 2007

What's In a Name?


This building, is what was the Clyffe Hotel up until a month or so ago. The original building was built in 1584 in the reign of Elizabeth I as a dwelling house. During the intervening years it has been much changed and had parts added to it. In 1679 it was leased to Richard Farrier, a shoemaker and in1720 a granary was added and the building was occupied by Francis Elgar, a corn and seed merchant, until his death in 1751. In 1831, after many changes it became part of the Cliffe House Academy and the two buildings were joined by a covered walk-way at first floor level above Cripps Lane. After the school closed the building then became a boarding house and then an hotel. Since then it has been an hotel and public house always with Cliffe (or Clyffe from the year 2000) in the name and either called an Inn, a Tavern or a Hotel.
For some obscure reason the name Cliffe is to disappear from the latest renovation, and it will became the Garden House Hotel and Bay Leaf Restaurant (formerly in the Butchers Cottage and now moving across the road). It is a great pity that an historical name can be severed from an historic building and a name with no provenance substituted!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Sirs,
I am looking to trace the existance of any Pupil Rolls for the Cliffe House Academy in 1841 or thereabouts. According to the Sussex 1841 census the Schoolmaster was a 45 year old Mr. Button living in with his family and assisted by a Master, Governess and 3 assistants. There was more than 29 pupils at that time. Can you assist?

Tony Morris said...

Would Mr Anonymous who posted about Cliffe House School e-mail me privately please.
Tony

Anonymous said...

Dear Tony,
I hope that you have received my e-mail but if not, I will try again.

Anonymous said...

Mr Morris

Let me shed some light on why the name of the hotel was changed. While it was still called The Cliffe, the previous tennants ran the business into the ground. It is only through extensive renovations and a general overhaul of the place that the current owners have managed to salvage some life from this building.

Surely a renamed hotel is better for the village than a defunct one.

Anonymous said...

I ate at the hotel in 2006 before it was taken over, and it was one of the worst experiences I have ever had.

The name is not important; it's the quality that matters.