Bibliography - Firle and West Firle, Lewes District, East Sussex
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Parish of West Firle, by Thomas Walker Horsfield, published 1835 in The History, Antiquities and Topography of the County of Sussex (vol. I, rape of Pevensey, pp.336-339) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2396][Lib 3211] & The Keep [LIB/507380][Lib/500087] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Firle, West, by Mark Antony Lower, M.A., published 1870 in A Compendious History of Sussex, Topographical, Archaeological & Anecdotal (vol. I, pp.179-181, Lewes: George P. Bacon) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8946][Lib 3314] & The Keep [LIB/500159]   View Online

The Household Goods etc, of Sir John Gage, of West Firle, Co. Sussex, K.G., 1556, by R. Garraway Rice, F.S.A., published 1902 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 45, article, pp.114-127) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2130] & The Keep [LIB/500263] & S.A.S. library   View Online

The Life and Times of Richard Challoner, 1691-1781, Volume I, by Edwin H. Burton, D.D., published 1909 (London: Longmans, Green & Co.)   View Online

Registers and Papers of St Peter's, West Firle., compiled by Rev. E. H. Nash, published 1911 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 54, article, p.263) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2139] & The Keep [LIB/500272] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Roman Urns found at Firle, by W. E. Nicholson, published 1915 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 57, notes & queries, pp.217-218) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2142] & The Keep [LIB/500275] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Firle Place, the seat of Viscount Gage (1), by Country Life contributor(s), published 17 January 1920 in Country Life (article)

Firle Place, the seat of Viscount Gage (2), by Country Life contributor(s), published 24 January 1920 in Country Life (article)

Firle Place, Sussex - I: the seat of Viscount Gage, by Philip Mainwaring Johnston, published 17 January 1920 in Country Life (vol. 47 no. 1202, article, pp.78-85)

Firle Place, Sussex - II: the seat of Viscount Gage, by Philip Mainwaring Johnston, published 24 January 1920 in Country Life (vol. 47 no. 1203, article, pp.108-114)

The Gages of Firle, by Lady Kate, published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 4, article, pp.150-164) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]

Rambles in Sussex, No 3. Berwick, Alfriston, Firle Beacon, Glynde, Mount Caburn and Lewes, by C. Beckwith, published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 8, article, pp.366-367) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]

Guide to the Church of St Peter, West Firle, edited by F. B. R. Brown, published 1928 (pamphlet, 11 pp., Firle Parochial Church Council) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 6541] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Notes on the Lord Gage collection of manuscripts, by Clarence E. Carter, published March 1929 in The Mississippi Valley Historical Review (vol. 15, no. 4, article, pp.511-519)

At Firle Place.

The Gage Monuments, Firle, by S.N.Q. contributor, published May 1929 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. II no. 6, note, pp.175-177) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8951] & The Keep [LIB/500204] & S.A.S. library

Two Probable Moot Sites [at Willingdon and Firle], by Rev W. Budgen, F.S.A., published August 1929 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. II no. 7, article, pp.210-214) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8951] & The Keep [LIB/500204] & S.A.S. library

The Gage Brasses at Firle, by Fane Lambarde, published August 1929 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. II no. 7, note, pp.215-216) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8951] & The Keep [LIB/500204] & S.A.S. library

Sussex and the U.S.A., 2nd series. 4 - Sussex and General The Hon. Thomas Gage, Governor of Massachusetts, by David McLean, published 1931 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. V no. 5, article, pp.354-361; no. 6, pp.401-405) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2310] & The Keep [LIB/500174]

An Agricultural Settlement on Charleston Brow, near Firle Beacon, by W. J. Parsons and Cecil Curwen, M.A., M.B., F.S.A., published 1933 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 74, article, pp.164-180) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2159] & The Keep [LIB/500355] & S.A.S. library

The Strange Adventures of Thomas Gage, by David McLean, published 1933 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VII no. 6, article, pp.360-370) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2312] & The Keep [LIB/500176]

Sussex Church Plans XLVI: St. Peter, Firle, by W. H. G. [W. H. Godfrey], published November 1938 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. VII no. 4, article, pp.117-118) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12536][Lib 8864][Lib 2206] & The Keep [LIB/500209] & S.A.S. library

The Gage Monuments at Firle and their author, by Mrs Esdaile, published May 1941 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. VIII no. 6, article, pp.162-164) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8865][Lib 2207] & The Keep [LIB/500210] & S.A.S. library

Firle Place, Sussex - I: the home of Viscount and Viscountess Gage, by A. Oswald, published 17 February 1955 in Country Life (vol. 117 no. 3031, article, pp.480-484)

Firle Place, Sussex - II: the home of Viscount and Viscountess Gage, by A. Oswald, published 24 February 1955 in Country Life (vol. 117 no. 3032, article, pp.564-567)

Firle Place, Sussex - III: the home of Viscount and Viscountess Gage, by A. Oswald, published 3 February 1955 in Country Life (vol. 117 no. 3033, article, pp.620-623)

The Eglington Tournament, by L. F. [Lindsay Fleming], published May 1959 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XV no. 3, note, pp.97-98) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8233] & The Keep [LIB/500217] & S.A.S. library

Firle Place, Sussex, an account, by Arthur Oswold, published 1960 (reprinted with revisions from Country Life, 36 pp. & illus, 1 map & 1 plan, London: Country Life) accessible at: R.I.B.A. Library

The Book of Bartholomew Bolney, 15th century, by Marie Clough, published 1964 (vol. 63, Sussex Record Society) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8063][Lib 2279] & The Keep [LIB/500440] & West Sussex Libraries   View Online

Pevensey-Glynde Roman Road, by I. D. Margary, published November 1966 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XVI no. 8, note, p.281) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8234] & The Keep [LIB/500218] & S.A.S. library

The Gages of Firle 1580-1640: an economic history of a recusant family in Sussex, by S. W. Pearson, 1968 at Sussex University (M.A. thesis)

Firle Place, Sussex, by Arthur Oswald, published 1972 (pamphlet, 36 pp., London: Country Life) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12510] & The Keep [LIB/502651] & East Sussex Libraries

Viewing in tranquillity: pictures at Firle Place, Lewes, by Kenneth Garlick, published 6 June 1974 in Country Life (vol. 155. no.4014, article, pp.1431-1436)

Firle: selected themes from the social history of a closed Sussex village 1850-1939, by N. J. Griffiths, 1976 at Sussex University (M.A. thesis)

Religious Survey 1851 - Lewes district , edited by John A. Vickers, published August 1990 in The Religious Census of Sussex 1851 (Sussex Record Society, vol. 75, pp.74-95, ISBN-10: 085445036X & ISBN-13: 9780854450367) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10578][Lib 13824] & The Keep [LIB/500452][LIB/507827] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Lewes district incl. Ditchling, Wivelsfield, Westmeston, East Chiltington, Streat, Plumpton, Hamsey, Chailey, Newick, Barcombe, Ringmer, Glynde, Beddingham, West Firle, Ripe, Chalvington, Selmeston, Alciston, Berwick, Newhaven, East Blatchington, Bishopstone, Denton, Tarring Neville, Piddinghoe, Telscombe, Southease, Iford, Kingston-near-Lewes, Stanmer, Falmer, Rottingdean & Ovingdean

West Firle - Land Tax 1785, edited by Roger Davey, published 1991 in East Sussex Land Tax, 1785 (Sussex Record Society, vol. 77, pp.76-77, ISBN-10: 0854450386 & ISBN-13: 9780854450381) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 11681][Lib 13075] & The Keep [LIB/500454][Lib/507860] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

East Sussex Census 1851 Index: Newhaven Area - Glynde, Beddingham, West Firle, Ripe, Chalvington, Selmeston, Alciston, Berwick, East Blatchington, Bishopstone, Denton, South Heighton, Tarring Neville, Newhaven, Piddinghoe, Southease, Telscombe, Rodmell, Iford, Kingston, Stanmer, Falmer, Rottingdean, and Ovendean, by June C. Barnes, published 1 March 1994 (vol. 23, booklet, 108 pp., C. J. Barnes & printed at Battle Instant Print Ltd., ISBN-10: 1870264223 & ISBN-13: 9781870264228) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503435] & East Sussex Libraries

Last glimpse of Virginia Woolf's house [Asham House near Firle], by Country Life contributor(s), published 9 June 1994 in Country Life (vol. 180 no. 23, article, p.130)

Sackful of Pigeons: West Firle - 1814-1815: Crimes & Criminals of Old Sussex, by W. H. Johnson, published 1 August 1995 (13 pp., Downsway Books, ISBN-10: 0951856472 & ISBN-13: 9780951856475) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502654] & British Library & East Sussex Libraries

West Firle - 18c. Schools, edited by John Caffyn, published 1998 in Sussex Schools in the 18th Century (Sussex Record Society, vol. 81, pp.261-262, ISBN-10: 0854450424 & ISBN-13: 9780854450428) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13825][Lib 13828] & The Keep [LIB/500458][Lib/507864] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Firle Place in Sussex, home of the Gage family for 500 years, by Richard Cavendish, published June 1998 in History today (vol. 48, issue 6, article, pp.62-63)   View Online

One of the Gage family ended his life as a grandee of Spain after vainly attempting to buy the throne of Poland, and another gave the family name to the greengage variety of plum. Or so the stories go. General Thomas Gage (1721- 87) was certainly the British commander-in-chief in North America at the outbreak of the American War of Independence. He brought his beautiful American wife home and Firle Place draws many American visitors today. Any misgivings they may feel about a place linked with someone on the 'wrong' side seem to be swept instantly away by the immemorial charm of the Georgian house with its park, attendant village and stumpy-towered church below the South Downs.

Cowper Collection at Firle Place, Sussex, by S. H. Belsey, published December 1999 in Country Life (vol. 193 no. 22, article, pp.148-151)

Firle Place, Sussex, by Tim Knox, published 23 April 2000 (50 pp., Trustees of the Firle Estate, ISBN-10: 0953805204 & ISBN-13: 9780953805204) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502690] & British Library & West Sussex Libraries

Sir Francis Watson at Firle Place, East Sussex, by Deborah Gage, published 2002 in Metropolitan Museum Journal (vol. 37, article, pp.239-246)

English art historian (1907-92).

Sir John Gage, Tudor courtier and soldier (1479-1556), by David Potter, published November 2002 in The English Historical Review (vol. xvii, no. 474, article, pp.1109-1146, ISSN: 0013-8266)   View Online

Sir John Gage's political career lasted over fifty years and experienced many of the ups and downs of politics under Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I providing a case study of the crucial politically active county gentry upon whom the Tudor state relied. Gage has generally been neglected as a political figure even though he held some of the most important court offices and, as military technocrat, was responsible for the supply of the armies of the 1540s. Insofar as he has any reputation, it is as the staunch conservative and rather sinister figure in Protestant historiography and perhaps as a timeserver. In fact, his religious allegiance was much more fluid and his role in the factional battles of court life at once more complex and more interesting than might at first appear. This study also brings out the purely private dimension and economic activity of a courtier who inherited only a modest landed estate but was able to trade on his influence at court in order to build up a local power-base that established his family in the long term among the leading gentry (and late peerage) of Sussex.

Sir John Gage, Tudor Courtier and Soldier (1479-1556) , by David Potter, published November 2002 in The English Historical Review (vol. cxvii, issue 474, article, pp.1109-1146, ISSN: 0013-8266) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/509150]   View Online

Sir John Gage's political career lasted over fifty years and experienced many of the ups and downs of politics under Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I providing a case study of the crucial politically active county gentry upon whom the Tudor state relied. Gage has generally been neglected as a political figure even though he held some of the most important court offices and, as military technocrat, was responsible for the supply of the armies of the 1540s. Insofar as he has any reputation, it is as the staunch conservative and rather sinister figure in Protestant historiography and perhaps as a timeserver. In fact, his religious allegiance was much more fluid and his role in the factional battles of court life at once more complex and more interesting than might at first appear. This study also brings out the purely private dimension and economic activity of a courtier who inherited only a modest landed estate but was able to trade on his influence at court in order to build up a local power-base that established his family in the long term among the leading gentry (and late peerage) of Sussex.

Firle Place: Syria in Sussex, by Richard Hewlings, published 2008 in The Georgian Group Journal (vol. XVI, article, pp.149-175) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/509235]

West Firle, St. Peter - Church monuments, edited by Nigel Llewellyn, published 2011 in East Sussex Church Monuments, 1530-1830 (Sussex Record Society, vol. 93, pp.379-383, ISBN-10: 0854450750 & ISBN-13: 9780854450756) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 17926] & The Keep [LIB/500470][LIB/507876] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries   View Online

About a Village, by Eamonn J. McCabe, published 4 August 2011 (128 pp., London: Frances Lincoln, ISBN-10: 071123258X & ISBN-13: 9780711232587) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries

What is it that makes the ideal English village? Firle in East Sussex is both unique and universal. First of all there is a pub and in no particular order come a school, a shop, a cricket pitch, a church, a stream, a blacksmith, allotments, flint walls, house martins. Above all, the village seems to contain that rarest of ingredients, delight. Firle sits literally at the end of the road. It is the last place you can reach by car before coming in summer to a wandering line of chalk and in winter to something a little muddier. Beyond the road are the wild landscapes of the South Downs, sleeping and keeping the bones of those who were first to arrive at the end of the last ice age. It is the connection between village, people and these hills which makes it such a special place. In a delightful photo essay, acclaimed photographer Eamonn J. McCabe captures some of what makes this English village come alive. Big open skies, small boys holding a colourful caterpillar, cabbages and tea cosies, bonfires, bikers, dogs and wellies. This is a book for all those who cherish English country life.

Changing with the years. Firle Place, East Sussex: home of Lord and Lady Gage, by Tim Knox, published 3 September 2014 in Country Life (vol. 208 no. 36, article, pp.48-55)

The Medsteds of Heighton in Firle: the rise and fall of a 14th-century Sussex family (1302-1416), by Daniel Booker, published 2017 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 155, article, pp.135-149)