Ightham Mote (pronounced "item moat") is a medieval moated manor house close to the village of Ightham, near Sevenoaks in Kent (Grid reference: TQ58395346).
The name "mote" derives from "moot", "meeting [place]", rather than referring to the body of water. Ightham Mote and its gardens are open to the public.
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Description
Originally dating to around 1320, the building's importance lies in the fact that after the completion of the quadrangle with a new chapel in the sixteenth century, its successive owners effected relatively few changes to the main structure. It remains like 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". It was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1985 by an American businessman, Charles Henry Robinson, who had bought it in 1953. The house is now a Grade I listed building, and parts of it are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
There are over seventy rooms in the house, all arranged around a central courtyard. The house is surrounded on all sides by a square moat, crossed by three bridges. 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, a narrow slit in the wall 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.
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.
A rumour is circulated that during the 19th century a female skeleton was found walled up behind a blocked service door. The door was shown by the Time Team special No. 21 and was actually a closet. There are no records of a skeleton being found and the rumour has not been entered into the 2004 tour booklet.
References
- Christopher Simon Sykes, Ancient English Houses 1240-1612 (London: Chatto & Windus) 1988
See also
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ightham Mote |
- Ightham Mote information at the National Trust
- Time Team, a television programme on the restoration of Ightham Mote
- A Rose for the Crown, an historical novel set in the late 1400s, prominently features Ightham Mote
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