National Trust Ightham Mote

Website http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-ighthammote/

Classification Gardens, Historic Building

DescriptionSuperb 14th-century moated manor house, has features including the Great Hall, chapels, extensive garden & interesting walks in the surrounding woodland.

Originally dating to around 1320, the building is of note as its successive owners effected relatively few changes to the main structure for the 650 years it was occupied. It was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1985 by an American businessman, Charles Henry Robinson, who had bought it in 1956. The house is now a Grade I listed building, and parts of it are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

There are over 70 rooms in the house, all arranged around a central courtyard. The earliest structures on the site include the Great Hall, the Chapel, Crypt and two Solars. The courtyard was completely enclosed and the battlemented tower constructed in the 15th century. The structures include unusual and distinctive elements, such as the Porter's squint, designed to enable a gatekeeper to examine a visitor's credentials before opening the gate, and a large kennel which was built in the late 19th century for a St. Bernard named Dido. The kennel is the only Grade I listed dog house.

It therefore remains a snapshot of how such houses would have looked in the Middle Ages. Nikolaus Pevsner called it "the most complete small medieval manor house in the country". During the 19th century a female skeleton was found walled up behind a blocked service door.

In 1989 the National Trust began an ambitious restoration project which involved dismantling much of the building and recording its construction methods before rebuilding it. The project ended in 2004 after uncovering numerous examples of structural and ornamental features which had been covered up by later additions. It is estimated to have cost in excess of £10million.

Ightham Mote and its gardens are open to the public.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, linked to here.

Position

Photographs

The following copyright notice for IMAGE 1 is on record:
I, the author of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.

The AddressThe Mote, Mote Road, Ivy Hatch, Sevenoaks, TN15 0NT

Phone01732 810378

DateOct 19, 2006

Contact Name

CategoryEngland > Kent
England > Kent > Attractions in Tunbridge Wells

Email send email to

Local Information

Other Nearby Attractions

Old Soar Manor is 1.78 Miles away
A small but complete portion of a stone manor house built c. 1290. The first floor 'solar' private...
National Trust Knole is 2.76 Miles away
One of the great treasure houses of England set in a magnificent deer park. Has a superb collection of...
Sevenoaks Leisure Centre is 3.23 Miles away
Beneficiary of a multi-million pound investment, the Centre boasts a 25 metre pool, teaching pool, toddler...
Tonbridge Swimming Pool is 4.19 Miles away
Tonbridge Swimming Pool has something for everyone with family fun, fitness and future champions all under...
Bowlplex Tunbridge Wells is 7.29 Miles away
The total entertainment centre at Knights Park Leisure Complex is an impressive Bowlplex centre. It has...

Campsites located nearby this attraction
Warning: mysql_connect() [function.mysql-connect]: Unknown MySQL server host 'thedatabaseserver.co.uk' (2) in /home/leisure/public_html/lib/db.class.php on line 20

Warning: mysql_select_db(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL-Link resource in /home/leisure/public_html/lib/db.class.php on line 22

Golf Courses nearby this attraction

Wilderness Golf Club is 2.58 Miles away
480 acre Wilderness Park is acquired for $1,244.81 per acre ($600,000). Initial plans call for a possible...
Sevenoaks Town Golf Club is 2.80 Miles away
Unique amongst golf courses in the United Kingdom, Knole Park Golf Club is located within 1000 acres of...
Poult Wood Golf Club is 2.92 Miles away
Poult Wood Golf Centre is set in rural woodland, three miles north of Tonbridge. It has a reputation for...
Knole Park Golf Club is 3.05 Miles away
Unique amongst golf courses in the United Kingdom, Knole Park Golf Club is located within 1000 acres of...
Nizels Country Club is 3.28 Miles away
This site has been set up to make your Golf and experience at Nizels as enjoyable as possible and to keep...