The legend of the curse stems back to 1150, when Lady Maybell Tichborne made a request to her husband as she lay dying in bed. She asked Sir Roger to grant her wish of providing an annual ‘dole of bread’ to the poor. He agreed, on the proviso that she be the one to physically mark out the land required whilst a brand remained burning! Against the odds of being bedridden for many years, and her death approaching, Lady Maybell got on her hands and knees whilst carrying the brand, and marked out 23 acres so her wish could be fulfilled. This area is still known today as The Crawls. When she got back to her bed, she put a curse on anyone who should let the dole fail, stating that the house would fall and the line fail.
For further information, please read Haunted Britain by Antony D. Hippisley Coxe.