The estate is now mainly a farming concern, raising crops and sheep. It has a large shallow lake that can be fished and distinct Eastwell Towers. The largest building is Eastwell Manor, a stately home that was rebuilt on a smaller scale during the 1920s using the material from the previous larger house, it is now operated as a country house hotel. Hence the Manor and Towers are only Grade II listed.[1]
Eastwell Manor
The original country house at Eastwell was built for Sir Thomas Moyle between 1540 and 1550. One of the men employed on the estate was the bricklayer Richard Plantagenet, who was suspected to be an illegitimate son of Richard III. The daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Moyle of Eastwell, Catherine Moyle eventually married Sir Thomas Finch, their eldest son was both the ancestor of Earls of Winchilsea and Nottingham and Earls of Aylesford.
Eastwell Park from the south lake (rc)
Sir James Thornhill painted the staircase ceiling and the end of the Great Hall at Eastwell Park in 1699–1716 for the 4th and 5th Earl of Winchilsea, the hall was painted to depict the Judgement of Paris and the toilet of Venus.[2][3]
The park at Eastwell used to comprise about 2000 acres of some of the finest land in Kent, having a very varied surface of hill and dale, its elevated part give it a commanding prospects, both north and south extend for many miles, from sheerness on one side to the lake and France on the other, it is tastefully laid out by the earlier Earls of Winchilsea and contained some noble forest famous for its majestic deer.[4]
In 1769, the 8th Earl of Winchilsea and 3rd Earl of Nottingham left the family Kentish properties, including the ancestral Winchilsea seat Eastwell Park to his other nephew George Finch Hatton, son of his youngest brother Edward Finch Hatton.
Between 1793 and 1799 the original manor house was replaced by one built in the neo-classical style for George Finch-Hatton and his wife Lady Elizabeth Murray, daughter of 2nd Earl of Mansfield to designs by Robert Adam's former draughtsman, Joseph Bonomi (1739–1808).[5] The new Bonomi designed house was built on a magnificent scale, with an imposing frontage, suites of splendid state apartments with accommodations for a large number of guests, beside the tastefully arranged garden, the interior resembles Bonomi and Robert Adam's famous decors.[4]
In the 1840s, the 10th Earl of Winchilsea ambitiously built Eastwell Lake, the newly formed large lake was created by damming a stream of the River Great Stour.[7] to commemorate the new lake, a model gun brig ship was launched at Eastwell Lake in 1848, it was attended by many locals and featured in newspapers.[8]
By the mid-1860s, the 11th Earl of Winchilsea, a chronic gambler, experienced serious financial difficulties due to his gambling addiction, which eventually forced him to leave the property. On 4 December 1868, trustees appointed under the Winchilsea Estate Act (1865) entered into a contract to let Eastwell Park, together with its furnishings and effects, to the Duke of Abercorn for a period of five years. Lord Winchilsea had been obliged to vacate the property sometime prior to December 1868,[9] and he was formally adjudged bankrupt on 5 October 1870.[10][11]
Royal residence
Eastwell Park at Ashford. It was demolished in 1926 and rebuilt as Eastwell Manor. (Lost Heritage)
Eastwell Park was next occupied in 1874 by Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son of Queen Victoria, with his wife Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, the only daughter of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. They lived here for 20 years with his family until 1893, when he inherited the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in Germany. During that time, Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor and there are photographs of her skating on the lake. Prince Alfred's older brother, the future King Edward VII, and Queen Alexandra were frequent visitors.[12] Prince Alfred's wife, the Duchess of Edinburgh, never liked England, but from her letter written in 1879, the Russian-born duchess was swayed and described the countryside around Eastwell Park as being "very pretty, everything is so green, so fresh." The duchess later confessed, "reconciles me a little to the English countryside."[13]
View of the scenic hills from Eastwell Park. (South view)
The 4th Earl of Warwick recalled visits to Eastwell Park saying, "I saw the finest jewels I have ever seen in my life". The Earl and Countess of Warwick were talking jewelry when the duchess said to the countess: "If you would like to see my jewels, I will tell my maid to put them all out in my room tomorrow evening, after tea, and if your husband is interested, bring him too." At the appointed date, the earl and countess went back to Eastwell and were astonished to find that the duchess's room was filled with
"precious stones; the bed, the tables, the chairs were covered with cases containing tiaras, ropes of pearls, necklaces, bracelets, brooches of rarest lustre and beauty and inestimable value. One would have thought that the world had been ransacked to lay these treasures at the Duchess’s feet, and there seemed to be enough for an entire royal family rather than for one member of it.".[13]
Eastwell Park Landscape. (North view)
In 1875, Prince Alfred's eldest daughter Queen of Romania was born at Eastwell Park. In her memoirs, she recalled fondly:
"Beautiful Eastwell with its big great gray house, its magnificent park, with its herds of deer and picturesque Highland cattle, its lake, its woods, its garden with the old cedar tree which was our fairy mansion Eastwell, the house where I was born, with its many rooms, explored and unexplored, our nurseries, our schoolroom, and Mamma’s cosy boudoir where she read to us of an evening and allowed us to finger the treasures on her tables; the breakfast-room, the drawing-room, and the dear big library where the Christmas tree always stood and out of which a passage-like conservatory led into the garden. This passage ran down a flight of steps to a larger conservatory below, which was filled with tree-ferns; anyhow, it was the tree ferns that impressed."
Later, she also recalled her mother playing duets with her friend Lady Randolph Churchill in the big Eastwell library while the kids would play in the other corner. The Eastwell breakfast room, meanwhile, always reminded her of her uncle Duke of Albany and King Carlos I, the former would pretend to break his front tooth, making the whole table panicked. At the same time, the latter was handsome and would make subpar jokes which the kids would laugh at anyway.[14]
Queen Victoria skating at Eastwell Lake, with Princess Beatrice and John Brown, St Mary church in the background.
The royal family eventually moved out of Eastwell Park in 1893, the royal governess made the royal kids to pack and donate their toys to Eastwell's servant and their children.[14]
Eastwell at the time comprised 6000 acres, with the park being one of the largest in the kingdom.[15] Baron Gerard then largely renovated Eastwell Park and it was completed in 1898,[16] but he died in 1902 and Eastwell was inherited by his son 3rd Baron Gerard; his friend King Edward VII was a frequent visitor.
During the First World War, Eastwell Park was made into a convalescent home by Lady Northcote (who tenanted Eastwell from Lord Gerard), she offered the house to the Canadian Red Cross Society and received convalescent patients from Monks Horton in the summer months of 1915 - 1919.[17]
Demolition and rebuilding of Eastwell Manor
Eastwell Manor (rebuilt in 1920s)
In 1920, Lord Gerard put Eastwell for sale, later it was bought by Sir John Pennefather in 1924, who decided the 18th century house was too large and demolished it. A much smaller house in a Neo-Elizabethan style was built on the same site from 1926–1928 using the material from the previous house, Pennefather's health declined and he never lived in the house, instead putting it up for sale in 1928.[18][19]
After many changes, Eastwell Manor now operates as a country house hotel. There is an indoor swimming pool and a Champneys spa, and a nine-hole golf course has been laid out in the grounds. The rest of the estate is used for farming.[22]
Next to the large shallow lake at Eastwell Park is the ruined church of St Mary the Virgin, which is now cared for by the Friends of Friendless Churches. The church dates to the 14th century[23] but became unused after the First World War. A storm in 1951 caused severe damage: parts of the nave and the choir fell. The tower remains reasonably intact. Marble monuments once found in the church are now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. A memorial located in the former choir commemorates the grave of Richard Plantagenet, alleged to be the illegitimate son of Richard III.[12]
The distinctive structure now known as Eastwell Towers stands a mile south-south west of the manor. It was the original main gatehouse to Eastwell Park and was built in 1848 by William Burn.
Home Farm
Home Farm at Eastwell Park was built far from the main stately home. The large residence is surrounded by fields and lies close to the church of St Mary the Virgin.
Gallery
Related Research Articles
Earl of Winchilsea is a title in the Peerage of England. It has been held by the Finch-Hatton family of Kent, and united with the title of Earl of Nottingham under a single holder since 1729.
Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea PC was an English Tory politician and peer who supported the Hanoverian Succession in 1714. Known as Lord Nottingham until 1729, then as Lord Winchilsea.
Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea was an English peer and diplomat who served as the English ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1660 to 1669.
Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea and 3rd Earl of Nottingham, , of Burley House near Oakham in Rutland and of Eastwell Park near Ashford in Kent, was a British peer and politician.
Guy Montagu George Finch-Hatton, 14th Earl of Winchilsea and 9th Earl of Nottingham was an English peer and banker. He was the elder brother of renowned big-game hunter Denys Finch-Hatton. His daughter married Whitney Straight of the American Whitney family and his son married a member of the Vanderbilt family.
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Elizabeth Finch, née Heneage, 1st Countess of Winchilsea was an English peeress.
Eastwell is a hamlet and civil parish about 3 miles (5 km) north of Ashford, Kent, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 103.
George William Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, 5th Earl of Nottingham was an English peer and politician known for duelling with the then Prime Minister, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington in 1829.
Murray Edward Gordon Finch-Hatton, 12th Earl of Winchilsea and 7th Earl of Nottingham, styled the Hon. Murray Finch-Hatton until 1887, was a British Conservative politician and agriculturalist. His country residence was at Haverholme Priory, Lincolnshire.
Edward Finch-Hatton of Kirby Hall, near Rockingham, Northamptonshire, was a British diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons for 41 years from 1727 to 1768. The youngest son of the 7th Earl of Winchilsea
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St Mary's Church is a ruined former Church of England parish church, in the grounds of Eastwell Park in the hamlet of Eastwell, Kent, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building, and is a Scheduled monument. The ruins have been in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches charity since they took over the freehold on 20 March 1980.
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George Finch-Hatton Esq FRS was an English aristocrat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1772 to 1784.
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Sir Thomas Finch was an English nobleman, knight, soldier, and military commander.
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Constance Henrietta Finch-Hatton, Countess of Winchilsea and Nottingham was the first wife of George Finch-Hatton, 11th Earl of Winchilsea.
Emily Georgiana Finch-Hatton, Countess of Winchilsea and Nottingham was the second of six daughters of Sir Charles Bagot, G.C.B. and Lady Mary Charlotte Anne Wellesley-Pole, daughter of 3rd Earl of Mornington.Her mother Lady Mary Anne was the niece of Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), hence making her a great niece to the duke.
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