Stoneacre, Kent facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Stoneacre |
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The courtyard
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| Location | Otham, Kent, England |
| OS grid reference | TQ7998053494 |
| Elevation | 75 metres (246 ft) |
| Built | Late 15th century |
| Built for | John Ellys |
| Restored | 1920s |
| Restored by | Aymer Vallance |
| Governing body | The National Trust |
| Official name: Stoneacre and Path Between Front Door and Road | |
| Type | Grade II* |
| Designated | 25-Jul-1952 |
| Reference no. | 1250995 |
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Stoneacre is a special old house in Otham, Kent, England. It's looked after by the National Trust. This house was built a long time ago, in the 1400s! It was once home to a yeoman farmer, which was a farmer who owned his own land. Stoneacre also has a lovely garden, an orchard, and green meadows around it. It's considered a very important historical building.
History of Stoneacre
The name Stoneacre probably comes from the rocky ground it sits on. Records show that a man named John Ellys lived here during the time of King Edward II. Later, in the 1480s, another John Ellys built the main part of the house we see today. It was a "hall house," meaning it had a large open room in the middle.
Over time, the house had some problems because it was built on a steep hill. In the 1500s, parts of the house had to be rebuilt with strong stone walls and supports to stop it from slipping. Back then, large open hall houses were going out of style. So, a new upper floor was added inside the main hall. The Ellys family owned Stoneacre until 1725, when it was sold. After that, people rented the house.
In 1920, a man named Aymer Vallance bought the house. It was quite run down. Aymer was a bachelor when he bought it, but he got married in 1921. He wanted to bring Stoneacre back to how he imagined a Tudor farmer's house would look. He opened up the main hall again to its full height, which meant two bedrooms were lost. To make up for this, he added a new section to the south side of the house.
He also removed an old small kitchen at the back. Then, he used parts of another old farmhouse from a different town, which was going to be torn down. He used these old pieces to build a new two-story section on the north side of Stoneacre. This new part included a servants' hall and kitchen downstairs, with two bedrooms for maids upstairs. In 1928, Aymer Vallance gave Stoneacre to the National Trust, so everyone could enjoy it. Today, you can visit Stoneacre on certain days of the month.
Exploring Stoneacre
Outside the House
The front of Stoneacre faces east. The lower part of the north side is made of stone, with timber (wood) framing above. The middle part has the main front door and a very large window that goes from the ground all the way up to the roof. This is the main hall section, and it's timber-framed with plaster filling between the wood.
You'll notice a two-story section that sticks out a bit, which was part of the original hall. Beyond that, there's a brick lower room with a timber-framed upper floor. A special window with 12 panes of glass was moved here from another part of the house.
On the back side of the house, where the new south extension meets the old hall, there's an interesting eight-sided tower. This tower holds a staircase. As you move north along the back, you'll see the original two-story parts and the tall main hall with its rebuilt window. Some of the original building is hidden by the new north wing that was added in the 1900s.
The stair tower and the back of the north wing were brought from another old house called North Bore Place. So, even though they are part of a 20th-century addition, these pieces are truly original from the 1500s and 1600s!
Inside the House
When you enter Stoneacre, you come through the main front door, which was restored by Aymer Vallance but is very old. Just inside is a "screens passage." The wooden frame of this screen is original, but the panels were replaced by Vallance because the old ones had rotted.
The main hall is very impressive, with a huge wooden beam supporting the roof. Long ago, there was a fireplace in the middle of the hall. When the hall was divided into two floors, a brick chimney was built. During Vallance's restoration, he replaced this with a 15th-century fireplace from an old pub in a nearby town. The chimney above it was built in the 20th century.
The drawing room, or parlor, was also part of the original house. It was likely a private room, separate from the busy main hall. The fireplace in this room came from the North Bore Place farmhouse. The stained glass windows are copies, but the curtains are very old, from the 1880s, and are quite rare!
Above the drawing room is a smaller private room called a "solar." It has a roof similar to the main hall, but on a smaller scale. The bay window in this room was added during the restoration, but it was designed to look like the original. Next to this window, you can see two original windows with special slots that were used to hold vertical wooden shutters.
See also
- Similar hall houses in Otham:
- Otham Manor
- Synyards
