By an Act of Parliament passed in 1559 the Crown enforced an exchange of property with the bishop and Preston was amongst the manors ceded to Queen Elizabeth in 1561, when it was valued at £38 12s. 4d. (fn. 20) a year. Richard Elrington continued as lessee of the demesne lands until his death in 1569. He had married Mary, widow of William Shirley of Wiston, to whom he left his property and she left it to her younger son Anthony Shirley, (fn. 21) the author of a long moral and religious poem entitled 'Witts New Dyall: or A Schollers Prize', (fn. 22) written during an 'idle year' spent with his sister-in-law Mary and her husband Sir Thomas Pelham. He was the lessee of the demesnes in 1608. (fn. 23) Queen Elizabeth in 1597 had granted a lease in reversion to Richard Newman for a further 30 years, (fn. 24) which was acquired by Anthony Shirley. - From: 'Parishes: Preston', A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7: The rape of Lewes (1940), pp. 268-73.

Notes

• When he died with no sons in 1569, Richard Elrington left his property to his widow, who in turn left it to her son by her previous marriage to William Shirley, named Anthony. He married several years later and eventually had twelve children. Anthony's wife pre-deceased him by one year, and when he died in 1624 Preston Manor passed to their son Thomas.

Links

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_Manor,_Brighton
• Shirleys of Preston