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A Short History of Nurstead Manor
Nurstead Manor is over 1,000 years old. There is a record of dues paid to Rochester Diocese by Nurstead Church in the tenth century. The first record of the Manor itself is in the domesday book, which is held in the time of King edward (1103-1066) by Vlfstan.The West Wing of the present Manor house is part of a medieval Hall built in 1320 by Stehan de Gravesend, Bishop of London. (Tree-ring dating confirms that the orginal timbers used in the construction were felled in 1316). The original form of the house was an aisled hall in which the roof was carried on six massive pillars, four of which may still be seen. The walls, of dressed flint laid in courses, carried no load but simply filled the space between roof and ground. They enclosed a space of seventy-three feet by twenty- nine feet and were decorated on the inside with flint and chalk chequer-work pattern. The oak pillars have elaborately carved capitals showing acanthus leaves, a motif which is repeated elsewhere on the timbers. The hall was originally open to the roof so that the smoke from the open fire in the hall could rise to the ridge, thirty-six feet above the ground, where it escaped through gablets in the ends. The crown-post roof is worth seeing and it still shows signs of ancient soot At ground level, the Lord’s end of the hall was raised and above the raised portion was the Solar, which was used by the Lord of the Manor as a bedroom. The room, known as the General’s Room, has been a bedroom for over 670 years. The Hall was lit by four great windows; the frame of one of them still exists. At some time, probably in the fifteenth century, the open fire was conffined to a fireplace and a chimney to remove its smoke. This allowed two floors to be inserted in the body of the Hall to provide bedrooms and attics. Dormer windows let into the roof provided light for these additional rooms. Apart from this the original building remained more or less intact for 500 years. Then in1826 the owner decided to modernise it. The east end of the Hall was demolished and a smart regency residence was substituted. The elegant building did not please his son however. When he inherited, he added to the width of the new wing and raised the glables on the east front. This Victorian building, with some modernisations, plus the medieval wing, makes up the present house. At the north-west corner of the house stood a defensive tower, presumably as a refuge in times of trouble. Whether it was ever needed as a refuge we do not know, but it was later used as a private chapel. It is now in ruins. An additional point of interest is that Nurstead has been occupied by the Edmeades 1567. The Edmeades-Stearns are the fourteenth generation of the family to live in the Manor House. Nurstead Court is surrounded by beautiful green belt agricultural land which the family run as a working farm. They hope to preserve the charm and guarantee the future of this estate for generations to come. |