Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

19thc Incorporating rems. of 14thc Manor House. Grade I listed building. Main construction periods 1200 to 1850 Part of an early 14th century aisled hall house, incorporated into an early 19th century villa. The medieval house comprised a two-bay open hall flanked by open single-bay ends, with the service end to the east. This bay, along with half of the open hall, was demolished in the 1820s and replaced by a brick-built, stuccoed house which was 'Tudorized' in 1850. Within the external stone walls the 14th century house is entirely timber framed, with a crown post roof supported on oak columns. Tree ring dating suggests that the timbers used were probably felled circa 1314. A ruinous stone structure attached to the north west corner of the medieval house has been shown to pre-date the hall range though the exact date and function of this structure are unclear. It is thought that a detached kitchen block stood east of the house and further buildings, possibly medieval in date, stood to the north.

Monument Types

• HOUSE (Medieval to Modern - 1304 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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[TQ 64006853] Nurstead Court [TI] (1) Nurstead Court, [Cobham]. As originally completed. Nurstead Court consisted of an irregular group of buildings, the most important of which was the Hall, with its high pitched roof of unusual construction, the date of which is probably early in the 14thc. [here follows a description of the roof, which is compared with that of Westminster Hall as originally built by William Rufus]. During the 18th? century the hall was divided into several floors and rooms. A portion of the old Court was subsequently taken down, and the rest incorporated in a newly-built house adjoining. Alteratins, "a few years since", revealed the original form and construction. At present only a portion of the original hall - and that lost in the "modern" partitions and floors - exists. (2) Nurstead Court, Grade I. (Strood Road, Gravesham) Erected about mid 14th cent; "although no historical document has been met with to fix with certainty the exact date of its erection". The walls were of flint with Caen stone dressings to quoins, windows, and doors.The whole has now either been taken down or completley adapted to a modern residence. (3) ... About 1837 one half [of Nurstead Hall] was demilished to make way for a building in the contemporary taste. ...With Nurstead...the aisled hall reached the end of its development in lowland England. (4) Nurstead Court. An aisled hall of 14thc. date existed here until 1825. "It had long been divided into many rooms and cut up into three floors, but the main structure of four bays with its three pairs of huge oak pillars and its great arch braced timber roof remained intact.". When the early 19thc. house was built the eastern part was destroyed but the western half remained attached to the later house. "The date of this hall is probably about 1320 to judge by the shape and tracery of the one surviving gabled window and the naturalistic character of the beautiful carved foliage which appears on the stops of the mouldings and round the abaci of the capitals. Attached to it at the north west angle is the ruined base of what appears to have been an earlier fortified tower. (5) Nurstead Court - name confirmed. The early house is very evident both outside and in. It is of flint with stone dressings and retains a large gabled window and a doorway in its northern side. The ruin at its N.W. corner is substantial but badly mutilated. It attains a maximum height of 2.0m above ground level but its earthen floor is c.1.5m. below ground level. Its walls are 1.2m.

Description from record TQ 66 NW 68:
The following text is from the original listed building designation:
TQ 66 NW MEOPHAM NURSTEAD LANE 4/85 21.11.66 Nurstead Court
I
Circa 1320 by Bishop Stephen de Gravesend. An aisled timber hall of 4 bays which survived complete until 1825 when half was pulled down and replaced by a stuccoed brick villa. This was "tudorised" in 1850 with gables and one bay added and faced in recently invented Portland Cement. At north-west corner C13 ruins of building of unknown purpose of flint and chalk in chequers.
The hall is enclosed by an 11 ft high wall of knapped flint with dressings of Caen stone. The tiled roof is supported on 21 in diameter oak columns carrying deeply moulded curved braces to aisle purlins and to cambered beam which supports a squat crown post. This is braced to short collars and the medial purlin. Mouldings stopped with leaf carvings as on the capitals. One remaining gabled dormer window trannioned in stone. Dais at west end. Chamber on first floor. Library has early C19 "Gothick" bookcases. Semi-circular stair also C19. Listing NGR: TQ6405668568 (13)

Dendrochronology of the roof over the open hall and solar end of the aisled hall revealed a date of 1299-1334. (13)

Photographs (15-16)

Archive material: (17)

<1> OS 6" 1938-9 (OS Card Reference). SKE48357.

<2> Gent's Mag NS Vol 7 1837 364-7 Illust (OS Card Reference). SKE43602.

<3> Dom Archit Eng from Edw I - Rich III 1853 281-2 illust (TH Turner) (OS Card Reference). SKE41466.

<4> Arch J Vol 112 1955 82 84-6 90 Illust (JT Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE36770.

<5> `Country Houses of Kent' (1933)14-15 plan illus (A Oswald) (OS Card Reference). SKE32713.

<6> F1 CFW 03.09.59 (OS Card Reference). SKE42398.

<7> `History of Kent' Vol 2 1792 462-3 (Hasted) (OS Card Reference). SKE32719.

<8> F2 ASP 19.10.64 (OS Card Reference). SKE43134.

<9> DOE(HHR)Dist of Gravesham B Kent July 1983 28 (OS Card Reference). SKE41321.

<10> Bldgs of Eng West Kent and the Weald 1980 439-40 illust 27 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE38078.

<11> Field report for monument TQ 66 NW 7 - September, 1959 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3530.

<12> Field report for monument TQ 66 NW 7 - October, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3531.

<13> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

<14> Vernacular Architecture Group, ADS Dendrochronology Database, Vol. 19, Pg. 48 (Website). SKE17391.

<15> NURSTEAD HALL, MEOPHAM. (Photograph). SKE1414.

<16> NURSTEAD HALL, MEOPHAM. (Photograph). SKE1414.

<17> Historic England, Archive material associated with Nurstead Court Listed Building (Archive). SKE53874.

Sources and further reading