Hall Place

Until the nineteenth century Hall Place owned no land outside the park and it was probably no larger than an average farmhouse. A circa 1600 map shows it surrounded by a number of barns and outhouses. We know of three houses on the site – this one, the Georgian mansion and the present house.

Hall Place 1790

Hall Place was granted by Henry V1, as part of the Penshurst Estate, to Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham. The estate was forfeited to the King when his son fought against Richard 111. The property was reinstated to the family by Henry V11, but forfeited again in 1521when Edward Duke of Buckingham was accused of conspiring against Henry V111. It was acquired by his steward, Knevett, who had given evidence against Edward and he sold it to Mr. Burnett of East Wickham. Yet again it reverted to the Crown and was granted to William Waller of Groombridge Place who gave it to his son, Richard. Henry Cruttenden inherited it from Richard’s daughter, Margaret, and passed it to his son, Henry, and from there it passed into the ownership of the Harrison family. During this time it was tenanted. The most notable of these tenants was William Heath, who bought the freehold from James Harrison and passed the house to his sister, Elizabeth who was married to Isaac Burgess. Their son, Robert, pulled down the existing house and built the Georgian one in 1780.

Robert Burgess’s widow sold the house to Farmer Baily whose family owned it until 1870. Thomas Baily added a gothic hall to the east end of the Georgian house – 70 feet long with projecting bay windows at the east end – which was used to entertain the tenants. The Architect for this project was probably Charles Baily, a second cousin. The north end of the house was also rebuilt with gothic windows and a gothic room. The gothic room survived the later demolition and was re-erected in the Home Woods in 1870. It was at this time that the lodge on the north side of the drive beside Porcupine House was replaced by the present East Lodge and the ornate gothic gateway was built. A similar gateway, later rebuilt it West Lodge, and the Pinnacles, or Old, Lodge were also put up at this time. Rides were laid out in the woods along with a summer drive to Stocks Green and a water pipe along the line of this drive led to a dam which is likely to be the site of a hydraulic ram to supply wateer to the house to supplement the well at Hall Place.

Hall Place circa 1870

Samuel Morley bought Hall Place in 1870 for £42,000 plus furniture and fittings and paid £230 for the deer herd. Details of the 1870 sale catalogue for Hall Place are available for viewing. The images available are:

The following year he decided to pull the house down and appointed George Devey to design a new one. This Victorian building was rambling and picturesque with a courtyard for stables, coach house and cottages. It was finished in 1873. The baronial hall was moved and rebuilt as a non-conformist chapel. In 1874 the Home Farm buildings were rebuilt and West Lodge was constructed. The creation of the lake was carried out by direct labour and in September of that year the boathouse was thatched and a boat bought. The house was furnished by many of the best known Victorian firms, the largest contract going to Jackson & Graham. The organ was built by Hill using a pump driven by a water engine; and a large billiard table was installed. An improved gas and water supply was laid for the house, which also benefited the village, as did the proper drainage scheme. Samuel Morley died in 1876 and was succeeded by his son, Samuel Hope Morley, who added Leigh Park and Prices farms to the estate. He was made a peer in 1912 and took the title of Lord Hollenden. In 1925 he passed Hall Place to his son and the house is still in the ownership of the family.

The Current Hall Place

Alfred Houghton became Estate Clerk in 1925, then Agent in 1940 and continued in that position until he was 93. His first wage was £2.10.0d a week There were around 60 staff on the estate plus about 12 house staff and 18 in the garden. When the first Lord Hollenden died in 1929 the estate was worth a million and a half. There were 20 acres of garden including 12 and a half acres of lake, with a large rose garden and pergola, two tennis courts, 18 greenhouses and a conservatory. Lord Hollenden owned most of the houses in the village as well as about 50 cottages, the blacksmiths and most of the shops. He owned the water, electricity and gas supplies, the drainage system, the Village Green and the Village Halls. From the 1960s the estate began its policy of cutting back on its staff and selling off the houses, farms and property. In 1964 the last staff at the gas, water and electricity stations were paid off and the year before that the deer herd had gone.

In 1940 there was a serious fire at Hall Place caused by an electrical fault and a wing of the house was badly damaged. In 1977 this wing was turned into a house garden by the late Lord Hollenden, and members of the family still live in part of the house.