Eastbury Manor House

Clement Sysley, Builder of Eastbury Manor House

Clement Sysley was probably born in the 1520s. He was descended from an old-established family from Fountains in North Yorkshire, and was brought up in Kent.

He purchased the Eastbury Estate in May 1557, and by 1560 had taken up residency in the parish of Barking. By 1574, he was referring to his new home as 'Estbery Hall'.

Clement is described as a 'Gentleman' in contemporary documents. He had a coat of arms and built this fine house, so was evidently a man of wealth and social standing. He made some of his money buying and selling land in Kent, Essex, Dorset and London.

Wealth and status brought with it community responsibilities, which in turn increased his status in society. He was appointed Justice of the Peace and administered law and order from courts at Brentwood, Chelmsford and Colchester.

Clement married three times and had eleven children, only three of whom are recorded as living to adulthood. His wives were Frances Fleming, Mandley Chambley and Anne Argall. The second and third wives would have lived at Eastbury.

Clement died in 1578 and his widow Anne (who was connected to the Argall family of Walthamstow) outlived him by 32 years. He had bequeathed the Manor of Eastbury to Anne for her lifetime, with reversion to their son Thomas.

The widowed Anne subsequently married Augustine Steward, and her son Thomas Sysley became his ward. In 1592 Thomas granted a 500 year lease of Eastbury to his stepbrother, Augustine Steward the younger, ending the Sysley family's connection with Eastbury.

Their name survives in nearby Sisley Road, part of a housing development built by Barking Council after World War I.

The Sysley coat of arms