The name derives from an old connection to the Grey family, descendants of the Norman knight Anchetil de Greye. The estate or manor of Rotherfield Greys is referred to in the Domesday Book. The mainly Tudor-style house has a courtyard and gardens. The walled gardens contain old-fashioned roses and wisteria, an ornamental vegetable garden, maze and ice house. Within its grounds are the fortified tower built circa 1347, the only remains of the medieval castle, overlooking the gardens and surrounding countryside, as well as a Tudor wheelhouse. The house remains furnished as a family home, with some outstanding 18th-century plasterwork interiors. It is a Grade I listed building.
History
, one of the original founder Knights of the Garter, was granted a license to crenellate his Rotherfield house in 1346, when he also considerably enlarged the group of buildings. The estate passed to the Crown in 1485 and was granted to Robert Knollys in 1514 for an annual rental of a red rose, remaining in the Knollys family until 1642, during which time the current house and its associated buildings were constructed. Sir William Paul bought the house in 1686 and it passed via his son William's daughter's dowry to Sir William Stapleton, 4th Baronet in 1724. Between 1935 and 1937 the house was occupied by Evelyn Fleming, mother of the author Ian Fleming. In 1937 the house was bought from the Stapletons by SirFelix Brunner and his wife Lady Brunner, the granddaughter of the Victorian actor-manager Sir Henry Irving. In 1969 the family donated the property to the National Trust, where Lady Brunner continued to live until her death in 2003.
The house appeared in a series 3 episode of Downton Abbey when Crawley family visit the property, known to them as Eryholme. The house was used by the Dowager Countess' late husband as a hunting lodge. Robert, the Earl of Grantham, was considering moving there with his family as he was about to lose Downton to debt and taxes. It also appeared in the ITV series Agatha Christie's Poirot in 2013. In the adaptation of Elephants Can Remember it is used as the home of one of the peopleAriadne Oliver visits while investigating the case. The episode was screened on 9 June 2013. Greys Court also appeared for external shots as "Midsomer Priory" in the Midsomer MurdersSeries 14 episode entitled "A Sacred Trust".
