Brook House is prettily situated in the valley between Slaughterham Ghyll and Howbourne. The road from Stone Cross to High Hurst Wood runs in front of it. It was evidently the abode of a prosperous ironmaster, for the houses of its size anywhere about this locality were occupied by those engaged in the iron trade. It is said to have been the property of a member of the Fowle family at one period, and afterwards of the Fermor family. There are cinder-beds near it, which prove that iron-smelting was carried on in close proximity to it.

Subsequently it was in the possession of a Mr. John Burgess, who, in the sixth year of the reign of George III., was appointed high-sheriff of the county of Sussex. Since then it has been in the hands of Mr. Burgess Fry, a relative or connection of Mr. Burgess, and has continued in the family of Fry to within the last year or two.

The exterior of the building seems to have been extensively repaired at various times, with the exception of the back of the house, which still retains much of its old character.

The long-tiled narrow roof over the door and windows, to preserve them from the wet, presents a very picturesque feature, met with in old buildings only.

The present proprietor, Mr. Hill, has, with great taste and judgment, whilst restoring the interior, carefully preserved all the old materials which were sound and could be retained with safety, so that the fine massive oak-beams still cross the ceilings, and the timber and plaster walls of the passages still remain, The old plan and the style of the period being strictly adhered to, gives the whole of the interior that appearance of antiquity and solidity which is so characteristic of the old mansions of England.

The same good taste and feeling are shown in the construction of the porch, and in the restoration of the exterior of the building. The grounds, also, have been greatly improved, and a pretty piece of water has been formed, which adds considerably to the attractiveness of the place.

By the side of the road, in front of the house, grows an ancient oak tree - coeval, I should say, with the great Anderida Forest, and is probably one of the trees of that ancient impenetrable Coid Andred of the Britons. It is hollow in the centre, but still looks sturdy and full of life, though so many hundreds of winters must have passed over it. Surrounded by masses of foliage, in that peaceful vale it has been shielded from innumerable tempests, and been nursed to maturity. By some happy accident it has been spared by the woodman's axe, and has escaped the iron-smelting furnaces. Outliving all its contemporaries of the past, it is now respected and preserved as a venerable relic of ancient Britain. The girth of its trunk near the base is about twenty-three feet. The large roots jut out around it like huge claws clutching the earth. It will outlive the present generation of men, and perhaps the next - a remarkable instance of the greater longevity of vegetable than of animal life.