This was written by Helen Poole in answer to a recent query, I am pleased to
present it here.
Details of the acquisition of Marlipins.
In 1922 Robert Gates of the family building firm put Marlipins on the market,
though it was agreed that the building had little commercial value beyond its
site. One expert, Thackeray Turner, examined the building on behalf of the
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and reported that "a medieval
building remaining in a High Street ought to be preserved at all costs. This one
should be strengthened and tided up - restoration would rob it of nearly all its
interest." Mr Gates agreed to sell it to a committee undertaking to preserve it,
so the Committee of the Marlipins Preservation Scheme was set up by Henry Cheal.
On 24 November 1922 William J Burstow provided the £500 needed for immediate
purchase, a special price which the owners agreed in order to preserve the
building, which opened to the public on 15 August 1923. The Duchess of Norfolk
became President of the committee, in view of her family's long association with
the town, and many other important figures in the area joined. It reached a wide
audience and Rudyard Kipling gave 3 guineas, while Hove Corporation gave some
pieces of Caen stone from architectural salvage. There were appeals to the
public, with some imaginative fund-raising ideas, which persisted for many
years. The purchase of the Freehold was completed on 12 November 1925, when it
became one of the properties of the Sussex Archaeological Society, who formed a
Trust for this purpose. The building first opened on 15 August 1923, with
William Hughes Browning in attendance as a guide, and it became Marlipins Museum
officially on 20 October 1926, "displaying antiquities and pictures of local
interest."
The balance of the purchase price was paid off by Sir Hildebrand Harmsworth,
Bart, an active Vice-President of the Preservation Scheme and younger brother of
Lord Rothermere and Lord Northcliffe, the newspaper magnates. He also very
generously funded most of the work needed for repair and modifications, to the
tune of £664. The Curator listed all the work done in the five months between 15
November 1927 and 17 March 1928, and commented: "A quarter of a ton of black
dust was removed by "Vacuum Cleaner" after the Renovations." Sir Hildebrand was
ill when his wife reopened the museum on 25 April 1928. He died a year later and
was buried at Hangleton. His name and generosity are commemorated in a plaque in
the museum. The Sussex Archaeological Trust was wound up years ago as it was no
longer needed, but the Sussex Archaeological Society was always the parent body
and is very proud to have Marlipins in its portfolio.
Mrs H E Poole, BA, DipArch, AMA, PGCE
Senior Museums Officer
Sussex Archaeological Society
e&oe
