Lordship of Heathfield Manor resides in Sagamore Hills

by Laura Bednar

Most people who search their family’s ancestry find long-lost relatives or copies of historical ledgers, but Dr. Christopher Repetsky found an opportunity to become Lordship of the Manor in an English town not dissimilar from Sagamore Hills.

Repetsky, a Sagamore resident and family medicine doctor with Summa Health, knew his mother’s family had English heritage and came to the United States in the Colonial era. But he knew nothing else.

About a year ago, he hired a professional genealogist who traced Repetsky’s roots to England and Scotland. He found a connection to the Rutherford clan in Scotland and relatives in the county of Sussex, England.

“I love historical things,” said Repetsky, who wanted a coat of arms to show his ancestry. This required a paper trail of his genealogy.

It was through the deep dive into his heritage that he came across the Manorial Society of Great Britain’s auction of a title for the Lordship of the Manor of Heathfield. Repetsky explained that nobility is big in English history, and this particular title can be legally bought or sold. No property rights accompany the title and no familial connection is required to purchase it.

“The titles exist from the feudal era before England was conquered,” said Repetsky. The feudal system was a political and social hierarchy in medieval Europe.

Influential people held titles and “Lordship of the Manor” is among the oldest titles in England, according to the Manorial Society of Great Britain. Some “traditional” manors included land, and lords could offer people protection and land in return for services like rent payment or working the home farm. Being a Lordship of the Manor meant power and wealth, depending on the number of manors they held.

“It’s ancient and historical,” Repetsky said. “It’s cool to think my relatives could have worked under people who had this title.” 

The Manorial Society also notes that lords would often apply to the king for special rights within the manor, the most valuable being the monopoly to hold a market and fair in the manor. 

This is the sole ancient right connected with Repetsky’s lordship. Most of the titles have been stripped of their land over time. Repetsky said his title is separate from land but is held as property.

The Manorial Society of Great Britain states: “In purchasing a Manor, therefore, one inherits the status that this form of tenure implies and becomes the successor in title to a line of men and women, many of whom have had a pronounced influence on the history of the British Isles.”

Title history

To bid on and win the title, Repetsky said a paper trail was required from the inception of the title to present day. Repetsky hired a property lawyer to trace the lineage. The earliest document dated to 1234.

The Manor of Heathfield is a rural manor that once specialized in growing hops and ironmaking. Cannons made in Heathfield were considered the best in all England, Repetsky found.

The manor is most famous for its Cuckoo Fair, which was held annually in April and was based on a folk tradition that Dame Heffle of Heathfield would release the first cuckoo of the year.

The earliest record, from the 1200s, shows a grant of a market charter to Ralph Neville, bishop of Chichester. In 1316, rights to a fair were granted to John Langton, bishop of Chichester. Heathfield was thought to be the site of conflict during the 1450 rebellion of Jack Cade, who was supposedly killed by Alexander Iden, sheriff of Kent at a spot in Heathfield.

In 1559, the government of Elizabeth I passed the Act of Exchange, which allowed the crown to seize possessions of vacant bishoprics. Heathfield was among one of 13 manors taken by the crown in 1586 and was later granted to Thomas Sackville. 

The Sackville family held the Manor of Heathfield until the end of the 20th century. Charles Sackville was the sixth Earl of Dorset and held the manor in the 1600s. He was seated in the House of Lords and during the revolution of 1688 personally helped Princess Anne escape from Whitehall Palace when the castle was under siege.

The last of the Sackvilles to hold the title was William Herbrand Sackville, 10th Earl De La Warr, who died in 1988. 

Repetsky said the Sackville family were nobles and auctioned off lesser titles to likely finance their estate’s upkeep.

Lord and Lady

Repetsky and his wife Agata are now the lord and lady of the Manor of Heathfield, making their Tudor home on Brandywine Road a fitting residence. Repetsky, a Nordonia High School graduate, said he knew he would return to his hometown eventually. As a child, he said he loved the house and jumped at the chance to buy it two years ago.

A coat of arms from England was granted and will soon be hung in his home. Repetsky explained the coat of arms must be unique from others throughout history and the College of Arms interviewed him to learn his values and preferences. 

The final product will be hand-painted, made of vellum material using pigments from medieval times. It will include the Repetsky’s Persian cat, who will be holding a bloodletting device used in medieval medicine to signify Repetsky’s medical profession. Also featured will be hermit crabs, a favorite animal of Repetsky and his wife. The coat will have four sections, much like Scottish coats of arms, to pay homage to Repetsky’s Scottish heritage.

Repetsky said he and his wife hope to visit Heathfield someday. “It is a rural town similar in size to Sagamore Hills,” he said.

The Manorial Society of Great Britain holds an annual reception, where those who hold feudal titles meet to talk history. Some members, Repetsky said, are actual nobility. One member was in the House of Lords in the English Parliament.

He said half the society members are English and the rest are from a variety of countries, including Canada, Germany and the United States.Find more about the manor’s history at heathfieldmanor.uk/index.html. 

Photo caption: Sagamore residents Dr. Christopher Repetsky and his wife Agata are the Lord and Lady of Heathfield Manor, a title that dates back hundred of years and is related to English nobility. The town of Heathfield is in the county of Sussex, England. Photos submitted.