Groombridge Place
Encyclopedia
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
in the village of Groombridge
Groombridge
thumb|right|A house in GroombridgeGroombridge is a village of about 1,600 people. It straddles the border between Kent and East Sussex, in England. The nearest large town is Tunbridge Wells, about away by road....
near Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England. It has become a tourist attraction, noted for its formal gardens, vineyards and a bird of prey sanctuary. The Raptor Centre
History
There have been manor houses on the site of the present Groombridge for centuries. The earliest mention of one of these is from 1239, when the Lordship of Groomsbridge was granted to William RussellWilliam Russell
-Kingdom of England:* William Russell , Bishop of Sodor and Man from 1348 to 1374* Sir William Russell, 1st Baronet, of Chippenham , English MP for Windsor...
. William and his wife Haweis built a small moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
ed castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
at Groombridge, and, later that year, were granted a charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
by Henry III of England
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
to build a chantry
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
. When William died in 1261, lordship was granted to Henry de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham
Henry de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham
Henry de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham was the son of John de Cobham of Cobham, Kent, and of Cowling or Cooling, Kent Sheriff of Kent, Constable of Rochester and Chief Baron of the Exchequer, by wife Joan de Septvans, daughter of Sir Robert de Septvans.His father was a brother of Sir Henry de Cobham,...
, heir of the influential Kentish family, the de Cobhams.
By the mid 14th century, the lands were held by Sir John de Clinton, whose grandson, Lord Clinton and Saye, sold Groomsbridge to Thomas Waller of Lamberhurst c.1400. Here, his descendant Sir Richard Waller detained Charles, Duke of Orléans, as his prisoner (following the Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
) for many years, until he was taken to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. The Wallers held Groombridge Place for over two centuries until it was sold in the seventeenth century.
In 1604, the estate was purchased by Sir Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset the Lord Treasurer of England. Sir Thomas also built a number of houses in the town of Groombridge. In 1618, Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset
Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset
Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset was the son of Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset....
had to sell Groombridge to John Packer due to gambling debts. Packer was deeply religious, and contributed mainly to the construction of nearby St. John's Church.
Just two generations later, the estate belonged to architect Philip Packer
Philip Packer
Philip Packer FRS was a British barrister and architect. He was a courtier to Charles II, and friend to Christopher Wren.He was educated at University College, Oxford where he matriculated in 1635...
, who, in 1662, built the present day house with the help of his friend Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
. However, after marrying an heiress in a failed attempt to resolve his financial problems, Phillip Packer died at the age of 32, and the estate was vested in the Chancery
Court of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...
.
Groombridge Place lay empty for twenty years. During that time, the infamous Groombridge Gang began smuggling. Several times, dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
s were called to restore order in Groombridge. One persistent legend which dates back to that time is that of a tunnel between the cellars at Groombridge Place and those of the nearby Crown Inn, although no such tunnel has ever been found.
Though Groombridge Place has remained largely untouched since it was built over 350 years ago, the manor has undergone its share of restoration. In the 1920s, electricity and bathrooms were installed. In 1986, the roof timbers and the chimneys were rebuilt to their original design, as heavy growth of ivy had damaged them. The house itself is a private home and is not open to the public, although the gardens are.
Gardens
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
's help was enlisted by friend Phillip Packer for the planning of the new leisure gardens. It is said Evelyn planted two Scots pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
s by the front moat bridge, one of which still exists. On the steep hillsides within the forest are a series of contemporary gardens created in recent years. One famous garden is the drunken garden, a favourite of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's. It was at Groombridge Place that his world famous Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
novel "The Valley of Fear" is set, although the House is renamed "Birlstone Manor". A zeedonk, a small donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
, and a herd of fallow deer
Fallow Deer
The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
inhabit the grounds.
The Secret Garden
The gate to the secret garden leads to a tiny hidden corner where a tiny stream tumbles into the moat. It was here that Philip Packer was sitting reading a book in the sunshine when he died. Towards the end of the fifteenth century the owner of Groombridge Place, Richard Waller, fell in love with Cicely Neville who was known for her beauty. She was the wife of Richard Plantagenet and mother of Richard III. Legend claims when she died in 1495 she was buried in Groombridge churchyard and Waller planted a hawthorn tree over her grave. In 1900 a branch was taken in an attempt to strike new growth but the attempt failed. A piece of Waller's love-tree still resides in the Secret Garden in a box on the wall. Sadly this theory is untrue. Historical evidence doesn't support it. and Cicely Neville is buried in FotheringhayFotheringhay
Fotheringhay is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England, six kilometres north east of Oundle and around west of Peterborough. It is most noted for being the site of Fotheringhay Castle which was razed in 1627...
, Northamptonshire; also there was no churchyard at Groombridge till the 1630s.
The Raptor Centre
Groombridge Place is home to a bird of prey sanctuary, The Raptor Centre. It was founded in 1977 and is still run today by Eddie Hare. It provides flying demonstrations for the public twice a day (except Mondays) throughout the summer season. Their breeding program is also very successful - producing many birds for release, other breeding programs and as flying birds. In 2010 the Centre produced 114 young. Many of these were hatched for other people in an incubation service - hatching for other people where they have problem parent birds. Over the years the Centre has rehabilitated hundreds of birds, working in close conjunction with the RSPCA, RSPB, vets, the police and the general public.Films
- In the Joe WrightJoe WrightJoe Wright is an English film director best known for Pride and Prejudice, Atonement and Hanna.-Early life and career:...
film adaptationPride & Prejudice (2005 film)Pride & Prejudice is a 2005 British romance film directed by Joe Wright. It is a film adaptation of the 1813 novel of the same name by Jane Austen and the second adaption produced by Working Title Films. It was released on September 16, 2005, in the UK and on November 11, 2005, in the...
of Jane Austen's novel Pride and PrejudicePride and PrejudicePride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England...
, Groombridge is featured as the Longbourne manor, the home of the Bennet family.
- The 1982 Peter GreenawayPeter GreenawayPeter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
film, The Draughtsman's ContractThe Draughtsman's ContractThe Draughtsman's Contract is a 1982 British film written and directed by Peter Greenaway – his first conventional feature film . Originally produced for Channel 4 the film is a form of murder mystery, set in 1694...
was filmed at Groombridge in the formal gardens and maze of Groombridge Place Garden.
- The 2009 BBC production of The Day Of The Triffids used this location for Shirning, Bill Masen's father's home.
Literature
- Groombridge Place is the model for Birlstone Manor, the setting for the first part of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Valley of Fear.
- Hudson's Historic Houses & Gardens. Norman Hudson & Company, Banbury 2006, S. 136, ISBN 1-904387-03-9.
- Peter Sager: South England. DuMont, Köln 2001, ISBN 3-7701-3498-2.
Events
A number of popular event attractions take place throughout the summer. Medieval themed weekends featuring the Medieval Siege SocietyMedieval Siege Society
The Medieval Siege Society is a British Living history and Combat reenactment association dedicated to costumed reenactment of Siege warfare, Combat reenactment and events surrounding the history known as the Hundred Years War and the Wars of the Roses...
throughout the gardens are a particular favourite.
Ghosts
There are many ghost storiesGhost story
A ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, or an account of an experience, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. Colloquially, the term can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has...
at Groombridge Place. The ghost reported most often is the Ostler. The Ostler is reported to have drowned in 1808 and is usually seen wearing a rust coloured smock and standing in the doorway the cottage that backs onto the moat. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle describes his encounter of a ghost in his book "At the Edge of the Unknown".