Who owns the South Downs? (2025 edition)

This post is by Guy Shrubsole. Image: Frank Newbould, ‘The South Downs: Your Britain – Fight for it Now’, 1942. Updated 11th May 2025 with more details on Friston Forest.

Just 29 landowners own over 100,000 acres of the South Downs, stretching 100km along the chalk outcrop, Who Owns England can reveal.

Back in 2018 I had a first crack at mapping major landowners in the South Downs National Park. Now I’ve made a much more comprehensive map of who owns the chalk downland itself.

My Google Map below shows who owns the South Downs, stretching from the Queen Elizabeth Country Park in the west to Beachy Head in the east. Click on each land parcel to bring up the owner details:

The map was assembled using Highways Act s31 landowner deposits; maps of Environmental Stewardship payments; reference to LandExplorer; Index INSPIRE polygons; and Land Registry data.

Here’s a static version of the same map, with labels:

And here’s a table listing the owners, estates, acreage and some notes on each one:

EstateLandowner Area (acres)Type of landownerNotes
Brighton Downland EstateBrighton Council    11,780CouncilAcquired in early 1900s to protect from development and to secure water supply for Brighton.
Arundel & Angmering EstatesDuke of Norfolk    10,910AristocracyArundel Castle & Estate is the seat of the Duke of Norfolk; the neighbouring Angmering Estate is owned by heirs and other members of the Norfolk family
NT land in South DownsNational Trust    10,538NGOThe National Trust began acquiring land in the South Downs from the 1920s onwards, such as Cissbury Ring. Other properties include the Slindon Estate, Harting Down, Devil’s Dyke, Ditchling Beacon and Blackcap. On the coast, the Trust purchased Birling Gap, part of an interwar campaign to preserve the area from development which also involved several local authorities purchasing land (see other entries).
Goodwood EstateDuke of Richmond    10,370AristocracySeat of the dukes of Richmond since 1697.
Firle EstateViscount Gage      7,151AristocracyGage family have owned the estate since the 15th century.
West Dean EstateThe Edward James Foundation Limited6,322CharityBequest of surrealist painter Edward James, now run by foundation.
Wiston EstateGoring family      6,175Landed gentryAncestor planted beech clump at Chanctonbury Ring.
Glynde EstateViscount Hampden      4,714AristocracyGlynde Place was built in 1589 by ancestors of the current owners.
Eastbourne Downland EstateEastbourne Council      4,085CouncilAcquired 1920s to protect from development
FC land in South DownsForestry Commission      3,391GovernmentMain FC freehold properties located in the west of the South Downs.
Dale Park Estate & Selhurst Park EstateJ.H. & F.W.Green Limited      2,962FarmerDetails of the farming company on Companies House.
Glyndebourne EstateChristie family      2,689Landed gentryFamous for its opera house since the 1930s.
Iford EstateRobinson family      2,671Landed gentryFounded 1895. Website says Iford Estate is 3,000 acres so map may be missing some areas. Iford were one of the first Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) pilots and have been restoring some areas of chalk downland.
Friston ForestSouth East Water      2,068CompanyAcquired as a catchment area for waterworks; leased to the Forestry Commission in 1926 who afforested it (see comments section below)
Wootton Manor EstateSabrina Harcourt-Smith      1,871Landed gentryOwns the downland around the Long Man of Wilmington (the chalk figure itself is owned by the Sussex Archaeological Society)
Coombes FarmPassmore family      1,830FarmerPassmore family have owned and farmed here since 1901.
Sompting EstateTristram family      1,808FarmerOwned by the Tristrams for 250 years.
Jevington Place FarmS & F Carr & Daughters & the Premier Trust SJ Carr      1,435FarmerStephen Carr writes the ‘Agri Brigade’ column for Private Eye. Link states his farm is 800ha (1,900 acres) so map may be missing some of it.
Castle Goring EstateLady Colin Campbell      1,163AristocracyBritish-Jamaican author and socialite; more info.
Pangdean FarmPangdean Farm Ltd      1,160Offshore companyPangdean Farm Ltd is registered in Jersey; see Companies House.
Muntham FarmHeath family (Muntham Farm Ltd)          929FarmerFarming company on Companies House.
Langford FarmProctor family          765FarmerRA Proctor is recipient of environmental stewardship payments for the farm. See also here.
Seven SistersEast Sussex County Council          739CouncilAcquired in 1920s to protect from development
Adur District Council Downland EstateAdur District Council          645CouncilUnknown when acquired, but likely in 1920s-30s to protect from development
Worthing Council Downland EstateWorthing Council          603CouncilAcquired in 1930s to protect from development. More info.
Rathfinny EstateMark & Sarah Driver          594FarmerVineyard, established 2010.
Seaford Head Nature ReserveSeaford Town Council          541CouncilAcquired in 1920s to protect from development
Mill Lane Farm, Offham (Offham Farm?)Harmer family          423FarmerHarmer family, have farmed at Offham for 240 years. Site of Offham Down SSSI ploughing in 1990s and subsequent ‘unploughing the downs’ protest.
Birling Manor FarmGilbert family          344FarmerBirling Manor farm is the farmhouse depicted in Frank Newbould’s famous wartime poster of the South Downs, ‘Your Britain – Fight For It Now’ – shown above.
TOTAL 100,674 acres

6 thoughts on “Who owns the South Downs? (2025 edition)”

  1. Another great blog! Can I suggest another interesting subject would be the top owners of riparian rights – who owns England’s rivers/riverbeds, along with who owns England’s Commons, such as Tyler’s Common in Upminster.

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  2. Being a West Sussex resident all my life, very interesting read! Lets hope the ones purchased to protect redevelopment remain that way!

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  3. Great blog. Intriguing as always.

    I’ve done some research into friston forest and have I think discovered why it is owned by a water company. In the early 20th century friston forest wasn’t a forest but instead a bare chalk Downland. Eastbourne water company ( later merged to form south east water )owned this land and the water would filter through the permeable chalk into a series of wells and tunnels constructed , which funnel the water to a pumping station. These wells are still visible today along with a sewage works presumably also operated by south east water , the pumping station building is still standing though I am unclear whether it is in operation. In 1926, the forestry commission were looking to expand the UK’s forests as a result of timber shortage , since Eastbourne water company worked entirely underground in friston forest they agreed the forestry commission to manage the land above and plant a forest. This lease agreement runs until 2126. So therefore , south east water owns the land but forestry commission manages it and is just another quirk of British land history.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/202806545@N06/54509230929/in/dateposted-public/

    https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/1951/04/fcfh083.pdf

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  4. Pingback: Mapping the ‘National Estate for Nature’ – and what it should do next – Who owns England?

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