More information : [TQ 3901 6478] Tower [G.T.]
Wickham Court
(Colma College) [T.I.] (1)
Wickham Court, West Wickham, now a Roman Catholic Training College, is a large red brick semi-fortified bouse built temp. Edward IV. (2-5)
A complete 15th c. semi-fortified manor house - See attached pamphlet and GP AO/64/116/1. The OS 'Tower' appears to be applied to the whole, for no obvious reason. (6)
WICKHAM COURT
KENT
ERRATUM
The title under the picture on the second page should read:-
"The Manor House from the West."
Wickham Court - Kent
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
The oldest part of the present building of Wickham Court, dates from the fifteenth century, but its history leads us back to that of the manor of Wickham in the late Anglo-Saxon period. The name Wickham suggests a still earlier origin, and is probably derived from the Saxon 'wic'-a street or way, and 'ham'-a dwelling, and suggests that there was some sort of Saxon settlement here as early as the seventh century. But of the early Anglo-Saxon period we have no written record.
The first mention of the manor of West Wickham is found in Domesday Book, where it is stated that, in time of Edward the Confessor, the manor was held directly of the King of Godric. William the Conqueror granted Kent to his half-brother, Odo of Bayeux, whom he created Earl. Subinfeudation (of Wickham) must have taken place about this time, for, according to the survey of Domesday Book, a certain Adam Fitzhubert held the manor of Wickham from the Bishop. It is entered in the Survey as part of the Honour of the Bishop of Bayeux. In 1082 Odo was apprehended by William and deprived of his possessions, on account of accusations of extortion practised by him during the King's absence in Normandy.
Photographical material omitted
The Manor House from the South-East.
From this time until the thirteenth century we know absolutely
nothing of the manor of West Wickham. But by the reign of Edward I it had come into the possession of the Huntingfields-an eminent Kentish family. In 1278 Sir Peter de Huntingfield, Sheriff of Kent, was also lord of West Wickham.* "He was named on the list of those brave Kentish gentlemen who attended the King (Edward I) in his victorius expedition into Scotland in the twenty-sixth
year of his reign, and assisted at the siege of Carlaverock in that kingdom, for which service he .... received the honour of knighthood." On Sir Peter's death in the following reign the manor passed into the hands of his son Sir Walter, who procured for it certain rights such as the license to empark woods in Addington, and also a charter for holding a weekly market on Mondays, and a yearly fair on the vigil and feastday of St. Mary Magdalene. Upon the floor of the Lady-Chapel in the old parish church of St. John the Baptist, which was once included in the manor, is an early slab, probably of Bethersden marble. It appears to have possessed originally a cross-fleury in brass and a marginal inscription which reads as follows : "Sire Wauter : de : Hontingfeld : Chivaler : gist : icy : Deu : de: sa : alme : eyt : merci." It is the tomb of Sir Walter.
* We are indebted, for this early history, to Colonel J. Farnaby
Lennard, whose researches were published by the Kent Archaeological Society, Vol. XIII, p.256 ff. in the year 1880.
After the death of Sir Walter de Huntingfield the manor was possessed by his eldest son, Sir John. We hear of this Sir John paying an aid to the crown in 1346 on the occasion of the knighting of the Black Prince by his father on the field of Crecy. He attended Parliament as a baron in the thirty-seventh, thirty-eighth, and thirty-ninth years of the reign of Edward III. It seems likely, then, that Sir John was a tenant-in-chief of the Crown (and certainly one of the lesser nobility), and the manor by this time was held directly of the King. When Sir John died the estate passed from the hands of the Huntingfields, for he left only two daughters, Joane and Alice. Joane, the elder, married Sir John Copledike and the manor thus passed to the Copledike family in the reign of Richard II (1939).
During the fifteenth century the manor passed from one family to another. In the early years of the century it was held by Thomas Squerries Court, Westerham, and by Thomas's son, John Squerrye. John leaving no issue, his nearest relative was his sister Dorothy and to her the manor passed, in 1463, and afterwards, on her marriage to Richard Mervin, to her husband. Later it changed hands again, and was for a short time in the possession of Richard Scrope, from whom it was alienated by fine to Ambrose Cresacre. This later on by marriage with St. Thomas More, Chancellor of England and martyr for his fidelity to the See of Rome in the reign of Henry VIII. Ambrose Cresacre, however, did not hold the manor for long, but in 1467* sold it to Henry Heydon of Baconsthorpe in Norfolk.*
* Hasted. History of Kent, ii, 33.
* For further information about the Heydon family, cf. F.
Blomefield's 'History of Norfolk,' Vol. VI.
HENRY HEYDON AND WICKHAM COURT
With the purchase of West Wickham manor by Henry Heydon the true history of Wickham Court as we see it to-day begins, for it was Henry Heydon who completely rebuilt the old manor house together with the adjoining church. Leland the antiquary states* that "Henry, sunne to John (Heydon) .... purchased three hundred marks of land yn yerely Rent whereof and Hunderith li. by yere is at Wickham by Lewsham in Surrey towards Croydon where he builded a right fair Manor Place, and a fair Chirchie."
* Itinerary of John Leland the Antiquary, 1745, Vol. IV, p.12.
The old wing of the present building is substantially the work of Henry Heydon. Thus, though the style may be generally termed 'Tudor,' much of the exterior and interior of the house dates from the reign of Edward IV-more than a decade earlier than the ascent of the first Tudor to the throne. The house was built in troublesome times and its semi-fortified appearance bears
witness to this warlike period. Though the Heydons had always been Lancastrian in sympathy Henry Heydon was himself a Yorkist. But it was no unusual thing for members of the same family to take opposite sides in the internecine struggles of the fifteenth century known as the 'Wars of the Roses'.
Henry afterwards became Sir Henry, receiving knighthood at the hands of Edward IV, to whose mother, Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, he was steward or controller of the household. He seems to have been an ambitious and acute business man, with an eye to his own advancement and that of his family, as were so many other lawyers of that age. He married Anne Bullen, daughter of Sir Geoffrey Bullen, whose more famous great-niece Anne Bullen or Boleyn later married Henry VIII and became the mother of the first Queen Elizabeth. Rumours have gathered round Wickham Court as the home of Anne Boleyn, but it is certain that she never lived there, though she may have visited from time to time in order to see her relatives. The courtship of Henry VIII and Anne is known to have taken place, not at Wickham Court, but at Hever Castle, several miles away, where Anne herself lived. But again there is nothing impossible in the suggestion that Henry VIII and his future queen may have met occasionally at Wickham Court, though there is no evidence to show that they did. The yew avenue in the garden, one of the oldest and finest in England is traditionally known as "Anne's Walk." The stained glass in the west window of the 'Keep,' showing the coats of arms of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, and her signet, must date from the three years that she was Queen.
As for Henry Heydon himself, he achieved his ambition, marrying all his children well, mostly into the ranks of the nobility. He died, a prosperous and successful landowner, and the property passed to his son Sir John, and after Sir John to Sir Christopher, grandson to Sir John, who was a man of some note in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The son and heir of Sir Christopher, Sir William Heydon, however, sold the manor-house and whole estate to John Lennard Esq. of Chevening. This sale took place towards the end of the reign of Elizabeth. Since John Lennard also possessed Knole at Sevenoaks, he gave Wickham to his second son, Samuel.
THE LENNARD FAMILY
Like Henry Heydon, John Lennard belonged to the legal profession, holding the office of "custos brevium" of the Court of Common Pleas in the late sixteenth century. His son Samuel, to whom he gave Wickham in his own lifetime, was afterwards knighted by King James I, and married (Miss) Elizabeth Slaney, by whom he had twelve children. The coming of Sir Samuel to Wickham is commemorated both in the house itself and in the church - in the house by a magnificent piece of heraldic glass, in the church by several monuments. Sir Samuel was buried in the Lady Chapel in 1618 and his monument consists of an altar-tomb surmounted by the Lennard arms. The long inscription is still quite legible.
Another monument worth mentioning is a curious marble tomb in the Lady Chapel. The central sculptured figure is that of a lady seated, one hand resting on a clasped book, which lies on a table. At her feet is the figure of a young child, clad in grave-cloths. This is the tomb of Margaret, wife of Thomas Hobbes, author of the Leviathan, and eldest daughter of Sir Samuel Lennard, who died in giving birth to her first child in 1608. Below the figures of mother and child is a tablet with a commemorative inscription.
A third interesting tablet in the church indicates certain charities performed by Lady Margaret Slaney and Sir Samuel Lennard.
A large black tablet fixed to the East wall of the North aisle gives particulars of "Benefactions to this parish." The list of charities includes a gift of twenty shillings yearly to the minister of West Wickham Church to preach on the 5th November "in memory of the excerable gunpowder plot!"* Since the land in 'Haies called Dockmead' was charged with the payment of this money, it is clear that West Wickham estate included much of what is now the neighbouring parish of Hayes.
* For further information about the church, cf. Vol. XVI, p.277 ff.
published in 1886, Archaeologia Cantiana:- 'Notes on the parish Church of West Wickham" by George Clinch; cf. also R. C. W. Cox's pamphlet on the church.
After Sir Samuel's death, the estate was inherited by his son, Sir Stephen, created a baronet by King Charles I in 1642. The Lennards were devoted to the monarchy, and Wickham Court was a notable Royalist stronghold at the time of the Civil War. It was probably after the war that the house was remodelled and enlarged. Its fortified nature was deliberately abandoned and it became the pleasant country house it is today.
On the death of the first Sir Stephen, Wickham Court was inherited by his son, another Sir Stephen, who died in 1709. He left a wife, three daughters and one son. This son, another Samuel, succeeded him as Sir Samuel Lennard, Bart. It was this Sir Samuel who was Equerry to Prince George of Denmark and Colonel to the Second Regiment of House Guards. He died in 1727, leaving no lawful heirs, but two natural sons, and to the elder, Samuel, he left the manor of West Wickham.
From this Samuel Lennard, Esq., the estate passed to the Farnaby, Esq., of Kippington, who was afterwards knighted. This Sir John Farnaby, Bart., was succeeded by his son, Sir Charles Francis Farnaby, who died in 1859. He had no legal issue, and was succeeded by his nephew John Farnaby Cator in 1861, who took the name of Lennard. His family held Wickham Court from the late nineteenth century to 1935. The estate was gradually dispersed and the house finally sold by the Lennards in 1935 for adaption into a hotel.
During the Second World War the property was requisitioned for the military, and became the home of the Canadian Air Force, and the A.T.S. successively. It had another short spell as a hotel, until, in the Summer of 1952, it became the property of the Ladies of Mary and a Training College for Catholic students-Coloma College.
THE HOUSE
The most outstanding features noticed by the visitor on his first approach to Wickham Court from the main drive-way are the embattled turrets, and the red brick walls, and as he comes closer, the mullioned windows and studded oak door in the porch. All these features bear witness to the ancient history of the house and the many changes that have taken place there. Inside the house one can see these changes more distinctly, whether they were made for fortifications, decoration, extension or the introduction of 'modern conveniences.'
THE FORTIFICATION
The house is composed of two buildings, an old wing and a new wing, joined by a corridor and door at the South-West turret. The old wing, built by Henry Heydon some time after 1467, was constructed as a fortification, designed to resist the attacks of small enemy forces, but not strong enough to withstand anything like a long or regular seige. It was originally a square brick building with an octagonal flat-roofed turret at each corner. Marks in the walls of turrets show where the beams supported these flat roofs. There were no windows in the outside walls, except in the four turrets. In the middle of the building was a square-shaped open courtyard with a well in the centre. The windows of the house were cut in the inner walls surrounding the courtyard. Some of these windows still remain, and where they have been filled in marks in the walls indicate the original position.
In each of the turrets was a spiral staircase lighted by the small windows in the turret walls. These were originally the only staircases, the wooden staircase in the centre of the building having been added about a century and a half later. The spiral staircases were removed altogether when the house was converted into a hotel.
The house was defended by three crenelles in each turret inserted at standing level round the walls. These openings consisted of loopholes with space within the turret for the defenders to discharge their cross-bolts and arrows with ease. The outside walls were all embattled and were several feet lower in Heydon's time than they are now. Over the original doorway, the present inner archway, (the outer corridor being a later addition), there was, according to Colonel Farnaby Lennard, a machicolation through which stones, molten lead and other missiles could be dropped upon assailants at the entrance of the house. Over this archway may be seen, in low relief, carvings representing two coats of arms of the Heydon family. Having been subjected to much weathering and perhaps battering they are worn and only faintly discernible.
The dungeon is said to have been immediately under the North-East turret. It was ventilated by two air-shafts, but there is no trace of these now. According to an old legend, there are supposed to have been two underground passages from Wickham Court, one leading to Coney Hall Hill, adjoining Hayes Common, and the other to Castle Hill, Addington.
Photographical material omitted
The banqueting hall, showing the Jacobean Staircase and a window of the entresol.
THE INTERIOR OF THE ORIGINAL MANOR HOUSE
The rooms of the house were comparatively large, with big open fireplaces to heat them in winter-time. Probably there were four original rooms on the ground floor, the present 'keep,' with its stone-flagged floor and great oak beams, being the kitchen, while the banqueting hall led out of this. The two other rooms are a long gallery (now the chapel), and a small room between the gallery and the banqueting hall, which may have served as a kind of office to the master of the house. It is now a reception room for visitors to the College.
The walls and ceilings throughout were constructed of plaster covered brick and heavy rough-hewn beams of oak. One room, the long gallery, may have been panelled at a very early date, for behind the present panelling there have been found traces of still older panels. Except in the reception room the old ceilings still remain as they were in Heydon's day, and the best example is to be seen in the beautiful banqueting hall. The stone fireplace in this room, which has carvings of monkeys (perhaps demons) and dragons over it, bears the initials of Henry Heydon and his wife, Anne. The iron fire-dogs are of later date, and bear the intiials of William and Mary.
From the banqueting hall, too, can be seen the inner window of the entre-sol, which is an interesting feature of the house. It was probably inserted between the 'keep' and the first floor, to gain
space and extra rooms. This was easily done, as the ground slopes down to the North-West, and the 'keep' is on a considerably lower level than the banqueting hall.
The present panelling in the reception room and chapel are of later date than the fifteenth century. The woodwork of the chapel is exceptionally beautiful. It is a composite collection, some parts are very fine examples of late Tudor or very early Jacobean work. Other pieces are later, and in the style of Grinling Gibbons. Over the stone fireplace, with its carved achievement of the Lennards dating from the reign of Charles I, is a wooden carved mantelpiece. Of special interest are the musical instruments, which include a lute, cymbals and tambourine and the figures of a gentleman on the left, playing recorder and a lady on the right playing a harp. Both are dressed in the costume of the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century. It is believed that all this carved woodwork was brought from some other house at least a century after the carving was complete.
Photographical material omitted
Coats-of-arms of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, and Anne's cipher. (The lower shield is and unknown coat of modern glass).
THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS
A very fine collection of heraldic stained glass may be seen in the windows of the banqueting hall and 'keep.' Most of this collection, which comprises between thirty and forty coats, heraldic devices and pieces of old glass, was brought over from the parish church during the nineteenth century. For reasons of dignity and convenience the most fitting place for heraldic glass, as for
commemorative monuments, was the nearby church, so closely connected with the manor house. Much of the history of the owners of Wickham Court is to be discovered in the church.
Those who are interested in either stained glass or in heraldry have been greatly intrigued by this unusually well-preserved
collection, and the whole story of the glass has been written by the Reverend D. Ingram Hill in collaboration with C. R. Councer,*
and only a few details remain to be discovered. The collection is undoubtedly one of the greatest treasures of Wickham Court. Among its pieces are perfect examples of the stained glass of many periods from the fifteenth to the late nineteenth century.
* Printed in the "Journal of the British Society of Master
Glass-Painters," Vol. XI, No. 2, 1952-1953.
The full story should be read in Reverend Ingram Hill's own
words, and a brief description must suffice here. Beginning with the North window on the far side of the fireplace as one enters the banqueting hall from the 'keep,' there is the 'Royal Window,' which has eight coats spread over its three top lights, the window being divided by a transom. The four coats above the transom are those of four royal personages with whom Sir Henry Heydon was associated. That on the left is the coat of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, whose steward Sir Henry Heydon was, and the central coat is the Plantagenet coat of King Edward IV, her son. Below this coat is that of Elizabeth, Duchess of Suffolk, Edwards IV's sister; it commemorates a distant relationship between Dorothy Heydon and the de la Poles, whose coat appears in the first and fourth quarterings. To the right is the coat of Queen Elizabeth Woodville, consort of Edward IV.
Below this transom are another four coats commemorating marriages of the Heydon family. This is also indicated by the diagonal strips of glass in the background of the first and third lights, which bear the Heydon motto, "Regardes que suyst de virtue null male." In the background of the centre light are the letters H and A entwined in a love knot and executed in yellow stain commemorating the alliance of Henry Heydon and Anne Bullen.
At the top of this light is the coat of Sir Henry Heydon himself and Anne. Below it is a quarterly coat of Henry's parents, impaling the coat of his wife's parents. Henry's mother's family was Winter,
and Anne's mother's was Hoo. In the third light is the coat of
Paston impaling Heydon which commemorates the marriage of Bridget, youngest daughter of Sir Henry, to William Paston, grandson of the well-known letter-writer, John Paston.
On the left of the fireplace are another two windows, both divided into four parts by a transom and a mullion. In each light there is a inserted coat of arms and the two windows thus bear eight coats, each of which commemorates some alliance of the members
of the Heydon family. They are later than those of the 'Royal
Window,' but all of sixteenth century date.
The first window from the left on the left side of the fireplace bears in the fist light above the transom the coat of l'Estrange impaling Heydon. Sir Roger l'Estrange of Hunstanton married the fourth of Sir Henry Heydon's children. In the next light is the coat of John Brook, Lord Cobham, whose son, Thomas Brook, married Dorothy, fifth child of Sir Henry. The Cobham arms impale those of Neville.
The window in the East wall of the banqueting hall contains glass of a later style, the earliest being the fine Jacobean achievement of Sir Samuel Lennard which was brought from the church probably in the nineteenth century. The glass in this window shows the Lennard coats.
WICKHAM COURT TO-DAY
The new wing, though added much later, (in the middle of the nineteenth century), is not out of keeping with the fifteenth century house. It was built in Jacobean style, and the whole presents a very pleasing effect, bearing witness to the ever-changing scene of English social life. During the unstable times of civil war, some form of fortification was a necessity; in more settled times, comfort and peaceful dignity could find their place. Add to that the practical additions of modern times, not without their own beauty, and you have Wickham Court as it is today.
Wickham Court, also known as Coloma College. Large red brick semi-fortified house built by Sir Henry Heyden during the reign of Edward IV. Square building, 3 storeys. A small open courtyard in the centre has been roofed in. Also features octagonal turrets of 5 storeys, and a castellated parapet to both the house and turrets. (7, 8)
From 1978-1996 the building was home to Schiller International University. As of today (2013) the site is home to Wickham Court School, an independant co-educational day school. (9)
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