Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Purchased by Henry VIII in 1544 (purchase not completed unitl 1547) from John and William Fry. By 1758 it had developed into a large farmstead with outbuildings.

A full regular courtyard plan farmstead.

Monument Types

• FARM (Post Medieval to Modern - 1544 AD to 2050 AD (pre))

Full description

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Purchased by Henry VIII from John and William Fry with 170 acres of land , it was enclosed within the park plae. The purchase of the land was not completed until 1547. No evidence for the farm's history prior to 1544. It is shown on the Burgess Map c1740 with a building marked "Brewhouse". The purchase by Henry VIII implies that it was a seperately farmed unit from the manor of Penshurst. By 1758, it had developed into a large farmstead with outbuildings, barns, oast, ponds and an ornamental garden. The house appears to have been a two-winged structure. From this date the farmstead appaers to have declined in importance. The house decreased in size until by 1885, it had been removed and a new house built to the north on rising ground. The site of the original farmhouse is now a car hard standing with shrubs. (1)

Additional information (2)

Description from record MKE80823:
Type: Regular courtyard with additional detached elements
Farmhouse: Farmhouse detached in central position
Position: Isolated position
Survivial: Altered - significant loss of original form (more than 50%)
New sheds: Large modern sheds built on the site of the historic farmstead, may have destroyed original buildings or obscured them
Notes: large RC now largely demolished
(3-4)

<1> Nicola Bannister, Historic landscape survey of Penshurst Estate, Tonbridge (Unpublished document). SKE6946.

<2> Cluttons, 1994, Penshurst Place: Whole estate management plan (Unpublished document). SKE6947.

<3> Forum Heritage Services, 2012, Kent Farmsteads & Landscape Project (Unpublished document). SKE18075.

<4> English Heritage, 2009, Historic Farmsteads: A Manual for Mapping (Unpublished document). SKE18076.

Sources and further reading

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