Chilston Park

Last updated

Chilston Park
Chilston Park, Maidstone.jpg
The house from the north
Kent UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Kent
General information
Town or city Boughton Malherbe
CountryEngland
Coordinates 51°13′08″N0°42′43″E / 51.21898°N 0.711962°E / 51.21898; 0.711962

Chilston Park is a country house in Boughton Malherbe, Kent, England. Started in the 15th century, the house has been modified many times and is a Grade I listed building, currently operated as a country house hotel.

Contents

History

In the early 12th century the manor of Chilston is recorded as being the property of William Fitz-Hamon. [1] It became the property of the Hoese or Hussey family in the 13th century, who held it until 1545, when it was sold to John Parkhurst. [1] [2] After his descendant Sir William Parkhurst sold the manor to Richard Northwood of Thanet, it passed quickly through the possession of several owners before becoming the property of Edward Hales in 1650. [1] [2] Hales was a nephew of Sir Edward Hales and was briefly MP for Hythe in 1685 and 1689. He died in 1696 and his daughters sold the house in 1698 to Elizabeth Hamilton, widow of James Hamilton and mother of James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn. [1] [2]

Chilson Mannor by Thomas Baderslade, 1719, showing the house from the north with extensive formal gardens Chilson Mannor, 1719.jpg
Chilson Mannor by Thomas Baderslade, 1719, showing the house from the north with extensive formal gardens

Elizabeth Hamilton died in 1709 and is buried in the church at Hollingbourne. The estate was inherited by her younger son William Hamilton, who left it on his death in 1737 to his son John Hamilton. He sold the estate to Thomas Best, MP for Canterbury (174154 and 176168). The next owner was his nephew George Best, MP for Rochester (179096). [1] Following Best's death in 1819, the house was bought by George Douglas, passing to James Stoddart Douglas, MP for Rochester (184147), and then to a distant relative Aretas Akers in 1875. [2]

Akers, who was MP for East Kent (188085) then St Augustine's (18851911), added Douglas to his family name. He was Home Secretary from 1902 to 1905 and, in 1911, was created Viscount Chilston. Chilston Park remained in the Akers-Douglas family until the estate was sold by the fourth viscount in 1983. Since then, the house and most of the parkland have been used as a country-house hotel. [2]

Buildings

Chilston Park house is a two-storey, red-brick building with an attic floor in the roof. It was begun in the late 15th century or early 16th century as a courtyard house and was altered in each of the subsequent three centuries. The courtyard was infilled in the 1880s and the house now forms a single block. [3]

The symmetrical front façade to the north is nine windows wide and features two projecting side bays and a pedimented central bay with a Diocletian window. A modillioned cornice runs above the first floor and over the pediment. The central bay, which contains the entrance, was reconstructed in 1728 to replace an earlier three-storied porch. The 12-paned sash windows in this façade are replacements installed in the late 17th or early 18th century and are recessed with stone sills and rubbed brick voussoirs. The roof, hipped to the front, gabled to the rear and with dormers on each outer slope, was replaced in the same period as the front façade windows. [3]

Grazing deer before Chilston Park, Kent by Frederick Richard Lee, a 19th-century view of the house across the larger of the two lakes Chilston Park, Frederick Lee.jpg
Grazing deer before Chilston Park, Kent by Frederick Richard Lee, a 19th-century view of the house across the larger of the two lakes

The modillioned cornice continues on the east façade, which is generally symmetrical about a central doorway apart a projecting bay on the north end. The south façade features gabled stone-built bays at each end with brick surrounds to the windows on each floor. The central section is built of brick in similar style to the east façade with the cornice repeated from the north and east sides. A brick conservatory with octagonal pyramidal roof projects south from the east end of the façade. [3] The west wing was rebuilt after the Second World War. [2]

Internally, the entrance hall is early 18th century with a black-and-white stone floor. Four rooms have moulded plaster ceilings and cornices dated to the second quarter of the 18th century. The central staircase was installed when the courtyard was enclosed and features carved panelling from circa 1540, believed to be from Royton Chapel. [3]

To the west of the house, beyond a modern extension, is a single-storey stone-built stable from the 17th or early 18th century that was partly rebuilt in the 19th century. It flanks the north and west sides of a courtyard and part of the east side. Roofs are hipped, with an attic floor reached from an external stair. A mounting block on the east wing incorporates part of an early 16th-century fireplace with the arms of the Hussey family. [4] To the south of the courtyard are two-storey stone-built coachman's cottages from the 18th century with brick dressings and a brick eaves cornice. [5] The house, the stables and the mounting block are Grade I listed buildings. [3] [4] [6] [7] The coachman's cottages are listed Grade II. [5] [8]

Park

Ordnance Survey map of Chilston Park, 1876 Chilston Park 1876 OS Map.jpg
Ordnance Survey map of Chilston Park, 1876

Chilston Park house sits in 78 hectares (190 acres) of Grade II listed parkland originally enclosed in the early 18th century by John Hamilton. On the north side, 13 hectares (32 acres) containing a stand of pine trees are separated from the rest of the park by the M20 motorway and Channel Tunnel Rail Link. To the north and south of the house are formal gardens, with a large, roughly rectangular lake located to the north of the house and a smaller one to the south. The east side of the garden is bordered by a ha-ha. A series of ponds that existed to the west of the house in the 18th century has been filled in. A circular pond and a ruined icehouse are located in the north-west of the park. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belton House</span> Country house in Belton near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England

Belton House is a Grade I listed country house in the parish of Belton near Grantham in Lincolnshire, England, built between 1685 and 1688 by Sir John Brownlow, 3rd Baronet. It is surrounded by formal gardens and a series of avenues leading to follies within a larger wooded park. Belton has been described as a compilation of all that is finest of Carolean architecture, said to be the only truly vernacular style of architecture that England had produced since the Tudor period. It is considered to be a complete example of a typical English country house; the claim has even been made that Belton's principal façade was the inspiration for the modern British motorway signs which give directions to stately homes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bretton Hall, West Yorkshire</span> Building in West Bretton, England

Bretton Hall is a country house in West Bretton near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It housed Bretton Hall College from 1949 until 2001 and was a campus of the University of Leeds (2001–2007). It is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capesthorne Hall</span> Manor in Cheshire, England

Capesthorne Hall is a country house near the village of Siddington, Cheshire, England. The house and its private chapel were built in the early 18th century, replacing an earlier hall and chapel nearby. They were built to Neoclassical designs by William Smith and (probably) his son Francis. Later in the 18th century, the house was extended by the addition of an orangery and a drawing room. In the 1830s the house was remodelled by Edward Blore; the work included the addition of an extension and a frontage in Jacobean style, and joining the central block to the service wings. In about 1837 the orangery was replaced by a large conservatory designed by Joseph Paxton. In 1861 the main part of the house was virtually destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt by Anthony Salvin, who generally followed Blore's designs but made modifications to the front, rebuilt the back of the house in Jacobean style, and altered the interior. There were further alterations later in the 19th century, including remodelling of the Saloon. During the Second World War the hall was used by the Red Cross, but subsequent deterioration prompted a restoration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adlington Hall</span> Country house in Cheshire, England

Adlington Hall is a country house near Adlington, Cheshire. The oldest part of the existing building, the Great Hall, was constructed between 1480 and 1505; the east wing was added in 1581. The Legh family has lived in the hall and in previous buildings on the same site since the early 14th century. After the house was occupied by Parliamentary forces during the Civil War, changes were made to the north wing, including encasing the Great Hall in brick, inserting windows, and installing an organ in the Great Hall. In the 18th century the house was inherited by Charles Legh who organised a series of major changes. These included building a new west wing, which incorporated a ballroom, and a south wing with a large portico. It is possible that Charles Legh himself was the architect for these additions. He also played a large part in planning and designing the gardens, woodland and parkland, which included a number of buildings of various types, including a bridge known as the Chinese Bridge that carried a summerhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lytham Hall</span> Historic site in Lytham, Lancashire

Lytham Hall is an 18th-century Georgian country house in Lytham, Lancashire, 1 mile (1.6 km) from the centre of the town, in 78 acres (32 ha) of wooded parkland. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, the only one in the Borough of Fylde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hatherton, Cheshire</span> Hamlet and civil parish, Cheshire, England, UK

Hatherton is a hamlet and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The hamlet is located on the B5071 at SJ687474, 2+34 miles (4.4 km) to the north east of Audlem and 3+34 miles (6.0 km) to the south east of Nantwich. The civil parish has an area of 673 hectares and also includes the small settlements of Birchall Moss, Broomlands and part of Artlebrook, with a total population of 360 in 2011. Nearby villages include Hankelow, Stapeley, Walgherton, Wybunbury, Blakenhall and Buerton. The A529 runs through the parish and the River Weaver forms the western boundary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alamo Plaza Historic District</span> Historic district in Texas, United States

The Alamo Plaza Historic District is an historic district of downtown San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It includes the Alamo, which is a separately listed Registered Historic Place and a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regency Square, Brighton</span> Square in Brighton, UK

Regency Square is a large early 19th-century residential development on the seafront in Brighton, part of the British city of Brighton and Hove. Conceived by speculative developer Joshua Hanson as Brighton underwent its rapid transformation into a fashionable resort, the three-sided "set piece" of 69 houses and associated structures was built between 1818 and 1832. Most of the houses overlooking the central garden were complete by 1824. The site was previously known, briefly and unofficially, as Belle Vue Field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gateway, Nantwich</span>

The Gateway, or 60–62 Welsh Row, is a Late Georgian former stable entrance in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, dating from the early 19th century. It is located on the north side of Welsh Row, on the junction with Red Lion Lane. It is listed at grade II. Nikolaus Pevsner describes The Gateway as "handsome".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Merchant House</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The Walter Merchant House, on Washington Avenue in Albany, New York, United States, is a brick-and-stone townhouse in the Italianate architectural style, with some Renaissance Revival elements. Built in the mid-19th century, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haigh Hall</span> Country house in Greater Manchester, England

Haigh Hall is a historic country house in Haigh, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Built between 1827 and 1840 for James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, it replaced an ancient manor house and was a Lindsay family home until 1947, when it was sold to Wigan Corporation. The hall is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building and is owned by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramsdell Hall</span> Historic site in Cheshire, England

Ramsdell Hall is a country house in the parish of Odd Rode in Cheshire, England, overlooking the Macclesfield Canal. It was built in two phases during the 18th century, and is still in private ownership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shotwick Hall</span> Historic site in Cheshire, England

Shotwick Hall is a former manor house in the village of Shotwick, Cheshire, England. It replaced an earlier manor house that stood on a moated site some 150 metres to the west. The hall and four associated structures are listed buildings, and the moated site is a Scheduled Monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boughton Monchelsea Place</span> Grade I listed English country house in the United Kingdom

Boughton Monchelsea Place, previously Boughton Court, is a 16th-century country house in Boughton Monchelsea, Kent, England. The first part of the house was built by Robert Rudston circa 1567–75 on the site of an earlier manor house. It has been modified a number of times during its history achieving its present form in 1819. It has been a home to a number of members of parliament for Maidstone or for Kent, including Sir Francis Barnham, Sir Robert Barnham (1646–85) Sir Barnham Rider (1698–1728) and Thomas Rider (1805–47).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linton Park</span> Grade I listed English country house

Linton Park, formerly Linton Place or Linton Hall, is a large 18th-century country house in Linton, Kent, England. Built by Robert Mann in 1730 to replace a much earlier building called 'Capell's Court' The estate passed through the ownership of several members of Mann's family before coming into the Cornwallis family. The house was enlarged to its current size in 1825.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smiths Hall</span> Building in West Farleigh, England

Smiths Hall, known as West Farleigh Hall from the early 20th century until the 1990s, is an 18th-century country house in West Farleigh, Kent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Peter's and St Paul's Church, Yalding</span> Church in Kent, England

St Peter's and St Paul's Church is a parish church in Yalding, Kent, dedicated to saints Peter and Paul. It was begun in the 13th century and is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tabard, Chiswick</span>

The block of three buildings containing The Tabard public house is a Grade II* listed structure in Chiswick, London. The block, with a row of seven gables in its roof, was designed by Norman Shaw in 1880 as part of the community focus of the Bedford Park garden suburb. The block contains the Bedford Park Stores, once a co-operative, and a house for the manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corn exchanges in England</span>

Corn exchanges are distinct buildings which were originally created as a venue for corn merchants to meet and arrange pricing with farmers for the sale of wheat, barley, and other corn crops. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley. With the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846, a large number of corn exchanges were built in England, particularly in the corn-growing areas of Eastern England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ye Olde White Harte</span> Pub in Hull, England

Ye Olde White Harte is a public house in Hull, England. It was built around 1660 in the Artisan Mannerist style but did not become a pub until the 1730s. In the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 it was the site of a successful plot to remove the Catholic Governor of Hull. The pub was remodelled in 1881 in the Romantic style with extensive alteration to the interior and façade. At least two residents have suffered fatal accidents in the pub and it is reputed to be "one of Hull's most haunted".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hasted, Edward (1798). "Parishes: Boughton Malherbe". The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. Vol. 5. pp. 397–415.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Historic England. "Chilston Park (1000522)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Historic England. "Chilston Park (1060856)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  4. 1 2 Historic England. "Stables and Mounting Block about 30 metres North West of Chilston Park (1060857)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  5. 1 2 Historic England. "Former Coachman's cottages about 30 metres West of Chilston Park (1344313)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  6. Historic England. "House: photograph (1060856)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  7. Historic England. "Stables: photograph (1060857)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  8. Historic England. "Coachman's house: photograph (1344313)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 17 July 2011.