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Monument details

HER Number:TQ 85 NE 113
Type of record:Monument
Name:Former site of Medieval Court Lodge, Manor of Wormshill

Summary

Former site of Medieval Court Lodge, Manor of Wormshill, damaged beyond repair in a storm in the 1850s. A modern replacement now stands on the site.


Grid Reference:TQ 8824 5750
Map Sheet:TQ85NE
Parish:WORMSHILL, MAIDSTONE, KENT

Monument Types

  • MANOR HOUSE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1068 AD to 1850 AD?)

Full description

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Former site of Medieval Court Lodge, Manor of Wormshill, damaged beyond repair in a storm in the 1850s. A modern replacement now stands on the site. (1)

The 240 ha Wormshill estate centered on Manor Farm, Wormshill, is derived from lands held by the Medieval manors of Wormshill and Bedmonton. The remoteness and nature of the land have meant that the estate has undergone little change in recent years, and features of the medieval and later history of the estate are relatively well preserved. [Full report, historical maps, land use history, documentary history, earthwork surveys]. (2)

In 1993 an evaluation on the historic landscape survey by Nicola Bannister for Wormshill Estate was done. The Manor of Wormshill, or Manor Farm as it is now know, was first recorded in 1086 in the Doomsdat for Kent and was called 'Godeselle' or 'God's Hill' and was part of the lands given to Bishop Odo by William the Conqueror. The name changed in 1225 and became Wormshill. Christ's Hospital were gifted it in 1712 and remained until 1905. The Manor House is twinned with another one the Manor at Bedmonton. (1)

The present house is thought to be on the site of an earlier house. The first house was timber framed with a tile roof. And barns and outbuildings with timber frames and thatched roofs. A pictorial map of 1636 shows a tower structure as part of the house but there is no reference of it anywhere else. The descriptions in the archives suggested it had once been a Medieval hall house which had been partitioned to create chambers.
In the early 1850s the house and several barns were damaged during a 'great storm' and the repairs were considered too expensive so a new house was decided to be built. The new house is mentioned having been rebuilt in 1852 and further records show tenders were received in 1853 and it was completed and occupied in 1856. (1)

A well was dug in the 18th century at Court Lodge and was 400ft deep however it had since dried up. Dried springs and pond in the area may have lead to farmers resorting to digging wells. There is another at Yew Tree Farm. (1)


<1> Nicola Bannister, 1993, Historic Landscape Survey of Wormshill Estate, Nr Sittingbourne, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE17239.

<2> OS Card / NAR index (Unpublished document). SKE6461.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>Unpublished document: Nicola Bannister. 1993. Historic Landscape Survey of Wormshill Estate, Nr Sittingbourne, Kent.
<2>Unpublished document: OS Card / NAR index.