Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

West Farleigh Hall (18th C) Grade I listed building. Main construction periods 1719 to 1799

Monument Types

• HOUSE (Post Medieval to Modern - 1719 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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(TQ 71335261) West Farleigh Hall (NAT) (1) West Farleigh Hall (Smith's Hall). Grade I. On the map the Kent county Planning Officer's List and the Interim Selective List, called Samith's Hall. Early C18. Red brick with w. dressings. To the southeast of the House 18th c stables. [For full description see list]. (2) West Farleigh Hall (formerly listed as Smith's Hall). Grade I. Country house. Dated 1719 on a rainwater-head, with late C18 additions. [For full description see list]. (3) Additional bibliography. (4,5)

Description from record TQ 75 SW 207:
The following text is from the original listed building designation:
WEST FARLEIGH LOWER ROAD TQ 75 SW (East side) 2/20 West Farleigh 27-7-52 Hall (formerly listed as Smith's Hall) GV I
Country house. Dated 1719 on a rainwater-head, with late C18 additions. Yellowish-red brick, with brighter rubbed red brick dressings, detailing and "chainâge". Plain tile roof. Double depth. 2 storeys, on moulded brick plinth. Moulded and dentilled brick eaves cornice. Giant Doric pilasters to each end of facade and four towards centre (one pair delineating three-bay entrance hall, the other, closer in, flanking the central first-floor window). Parapet with chamfered rendered coping and with plain pilasters alternating with recessed chamfered panels. Hipped roof, hips returning to rear with slightly lower ridges. Rear stack to left and another towards centre. Gable-end stack to right. Regular 9-window (3:3:3) front of slightly-recessed twelve-pane sashes with moulded wooden architraves, cambered heads, and splayed rubbed brick voussoirs dropped slightly at centre to suggest keystones. Similar windows to ground floor, but with raised keystones, and with cut ogee soffits to voussoirs of windows flanking door. Doubly-recessed rectangular panels, each with strip of plat band towards centre, and with moulded "cill", between ground and first-floor windows. Smaller doubly- recessed panels under ground-floor windows. Central early C18 double doors, each of five fielded panels. Late Cl8 porch, with moulded and modillioned broken-based triangular pediment on columns with fluted and reeded capitals up five steps with moulded treads. Door lintel lowered when porch added, concealing top panel of each door. Blind late Cl8 oculus immediately above architrave. Left return elevation: red and grey brick in Flemish bond. Galleted ragstone plinth. Giant Doric pilaster to each end, that to front returned from front elevation. Plat band. Moulded brick eaves cornice. Parapet with recessed red brick panels, plain end pilasters, and plain coping. Regular fenestration of five twelve-pane sashes with straight heads, in open boxes and with splayed rubbed brick voussoirs. Right return elevation: also red and grey brick in Flemish bond, but possibly a slightly later re-facing. High brick plinth. Dentilled brick eaves cornice. Blind arcading, rising through plat band, and incorporating small blocked window with splayed rubbed brick voussoirs towards front. Blocked window above it on first floor, and six-pane sash towards rear. Later two-storey brick bay towards centre. Roof hipped to rear, hip returning along rear of house. Rear elevation: also arcaded, with plat band, cornice, two six-pane first-floor sashes and one obscured window. Central rear wing: probably on earlier foundations (see 1719 engraving in Country Life, 21.9.1967). Right (south) elevation: style and materials similar to rear and right return elevations of main range. Three six-pane first-floor sashes with splayed rubbed brick voussoirs. Central ridge stack. Doors of six flush panels with four-light rectangular fanlights and segmental heads, within arcading (one under stack). At rear end, wing returns to right again, in same style, with hipped roof, three six-pane first-floor sashes, and similar central door. Right (south) gable end of this wing is also arcaded, with three six-pane first-floor sashes and with pump. Left (north) side of central rear wing is not arcaded, but has plain parapet and three twelve- pane sashes. Interior: entrance hall of two-storey height with unusual balustraded gallery or landing with enriched and moulded string, twisted balusters and moulded handrail, running along rear wall. At each end, the gallery bows forwards before rising six steps to the first-floor rooms. The steps have moulded treads, enriched cheeks, and a wreathed balustrade to the rear side. Where the main balustrade changes direction, there is in each case a cluster of four slender balusters sharing the same vase base and Corinthian capital. At the right end, the hall is extended back into the rear pile to take an open-well, open-string staircase with moulded cheeks and treads, twisted balusters and wreathed, moulded handrail, rising to the rear side of the gallery (which forms a bridge across the front of the stairwell). Ramped raised and moulded dado panelling to stairwell, and extending along rear of gallery. Fielded panelling under gallery(except to right), flush with front of string, and also to rest of hall, where it is corniced at first-floor level. Panelling under gallery is backed on closet side by C17-style panelling. Giant fluted Corinthian pier interrupting and supporting gallery balustrade to centre. Panelled doors to left and right ground-floor rooms, that to right smaller and with sunk panels. Early C18 panelled first-floor door to centre of rear wall of gallery. Panelled archway with moulded imposts and keystone at head of each flight of stairs from gallery to first-floor rooms. Panelled and corniced ground-floor room to left. Smaller ground-floor room to right (the hall is slightly asymmetrical) with round-headed niches, glazed with radiating glazing bars, flanking fireplace. Small rear ground-floor room to left fitted with late C18 library shelving, and with 'bas-relief' portrait of Locke over small corner fireplace, all from The Rookery, Bromley Common (demolished 1946). Panelled first-floor rooms to left and right. C18 fireplaces. Panelled window shutters. Known in Cl8 as Smith's Hall. (Country Life 11th May 1918,14th and 21st September 1967). Listing NGR: TQ7137452948 (6)

<1> OS 1:2500 1963 (OS Card Reference). SKE48205.

<2> MHLG (Maidstone RD) 2225/11/A October 1960 72-73 (OS Card Reference). SKE47059.

<3> DOE(HHR) District of maidstone Kent 14.10.87 16-17 (OS Card Reference). SKE41146.

<4> Bldgs of Eng-West Kent & the Weald 1980 598-599 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE38165.

<5> Country Life 11 May 1918 14 Sept 1967 21 Sept 1967 (OS Card Reference). SKE39380.

<6> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

Sources and further reading