Elphinstone Estate

The Elphinstone Estate consisted primarily of the lands associated with Ore Place and Hole Farm, the estate being broken up after the deaths of Lord and Lady Elphinstone. Sir Howard Elphinstone had purchased Ore Place in 1821 and passed away some 20 years later in 1846..

A correspondent to the Hastings & St. Leonards Observer has the following to say about the development of the estate in the 19th June 1954 edition:

Dr. Bullock says that the Elphinstone Estate was broken up after the death of Lady Elphinstone, the widow of Sir Howard Elphinstone. who had purchased Ore Place and its estate in 1821 and died in 1846. The changes in the names of houses and ​road​s are most confusing, but old local maps greatly assist the correct identifications. Much can be discovered as to who lived where and when by diligent search in the various editions of “The Post Office Directory of Sussex," published by W. Kelly and Co. (1st edition, 1845 onwards) and by Kelly’s Hastings and St. Leonards Directory (1st edition, 1888, onwards) and other local directories, of which the Public Library have a lot. I feel sure," he says, that Dunclutha was so named by Sir James Colquhoun of Luss. Scotland, who lived there at the beginning of this century. The present St. Helen’s Lodge on the Ridge is, of course, an entirely different house. Another interesting inhabitant was Mr. Clifford Harrison, the reciter and author, who lived at Osborne House (on the Ridge). He died December 17, 1903." I shall welcome further information from readers on notable houses on the residential fringes of the borough.