| Summary : Old Soar Manor, a fortified medieval manor house. The remains include the solar wing, attached chapel and garderobe block. They date to circa 1290, although there are some 14th century additions and alterations, and were restored during the 1940s. The main hall range of the medieval house, originally attached to the solar wing, was demolished in 1780 and replaced by an adjoining farmhouse (now a private dwelling). This incorporates traces of the original hall, believed to have been rectangular, aisled and timber-framed. The solar wing is the largest of the ranges and is rectangular with two storeys. At ground floor level is a barrel-vaulted undercroft originally used for storage. The first floor, reached by a staircase in a semicircular tower, formed part of the private accommodation of the lord's family. A doorway leads to the chapel, whilst a further, now blocked, doorway provided access to the now demolished hall range. The defences include arrow loops. The chapel is a roughly square building on the first floor above an undercroft. It functioned as a chapel of ease, allowing the lord's family to attend worship at home. The garderobe chamber used for storing clothes, originally contained a latrine, and is located on the first floor of the garderobe block. This is a small, rectangular building attached to the solar wing; arrow loops provided protection. At ground floor level is an arch which allowed the emptying of the latrine pit. The external faces of all three blocks have putlogs, the regularly spaced, square holes which housed the original scaffolding poles used to aid construction. By the 16th century, the buildings were being used as a farmhouse, and the solar wing was converted into a granary during the 18th-19th centuries. The manor is in the care of English Heritage. |
More information : [TQ 61945409] Chapel [NR] (1)
At Old Soar, Plaxtol, are the remains of a Medieval Manor house. It belonged to a branch of the Colepepper family and the first reference to it is in 1326. It became part of the Geary estate and in 1947 the buildings (except for the brick farmhouse) were given to the National Trust and is now controlled under a deed of guardianship by the Ministry of Works. The Medieval part is in Kentish ragstone and dates from circa 1290. It comprises a solar, 28 feet by 18 feet, lying northwest and southeast, with two smaller blocks - a chapel and chamber with garderobe - projecting at the east and north angles. All three rooms are raised above ground level and the solar has a barrel-vaulted undercroft. Attached to the solar on the south-west is an 18th century brick house on the site of the 13th century hall. This hall may have been timber-framed on a rubble base (portions of which can be seen) and was certainly aisled - an elaborate corbel against the solar wall being evidence of an arcade. In spite of mutilations, chiefly to doorways and windows, the group is a remarkably unspoilt example of knightly dwelling of the reign of Edward I and one of the most notable survivals of 13th century domestic architecture. (2)
Additional reference. (3-4)
Description by Auth. 2 correct. An Antiquity Model Survey has been done. GPs AO/59/59/4 from south east of Garderobe. 59/5 from north of Garderobe: 59/6 from North of Chapel: 59/7 from south of Solar and Chapel. National Trust and MOW nameplates: 'Old Soar Manor'. (5)
Checked and correct. (6)
Grade I Listed. (7)
Under Guardianship. (8)
Old Soar, Old Soar Road, Grade I. Remains of Manor House. Circa 1290 with 14th century alterations, restored in the 20th century. Solar wing, with chapel and chamber with garderobe, of first floor hall-house, the hall replaced in 18th century by Old Soar Farmhouse, evidence for which has been found in the area to the south of the solar. This building is a National Trust property in the guardianship of the Department of the Environment. [For full description see list]. (9)
Old Soar. Full architectural description. (10)
Old Soar Manor. Given to National Trust in 1947 by Mrs S.L. Cannon. (11)
13th century seal (of Richard Son of Symon) was found during November 1979 on the surface of a field of Broadfield Farm (see TQ 65 SW 29) lying below Old Soar Manor. (Broadfield Farm is situated at TQ 61845367). (12)
Additional information - not consulted. (13-14)
TQ 619541. Scheduled. Kent 88. Old Soar Manor, Plaxtol. The remains includes the solar wing, attached chapel and garderobe block of a fortified manor house situated c.2km to the east of the village of Plaxtol, on the edge of the Kent Downs. The main hall range of the medieval house, originally attached to the south western end of the solar wing, was demolished in 1780 and replaced by an adjoining farmhouse. This incorporates traces of the coursed rubble base of the original hall, which is believed to have been rectangular, aisled and timber-framed. The farmhouse is in use as a private dwelling. The solar wing is the largest of the standing medieval ranges and takes the form of a north west-south east aligned, two-storeyed, rectangular building measuring circa 10 metres by 7.5 metres.
The chapel block, attached to the north eastern corner of the solar wing, is a roughly square building with walls circa 6 metres long. The chapel is located on the first floor above an undercroft. Set into the south western wall is a piscina, or stone basin with a hexagonal drain, dating to the early 14th century. The chapel functioned essentially as a chapel of ease, allowing the lord's family to attend regular Christian worship at home, rather than travel to the nearest parish church at Wrotham.
The garderobe chamber, used as a room for storing clothes and also originally containing a latrine, is located on the first floor of the garderobe block. This is a small, rectangular building attached to the north western corner of the solar wing, measuring circa 6 metres by 5 metres. Cruciform arrow loops provided protection on all four sides. To the north east at ground floor level is an exterior arch which allowed the emptying of the underlying latrine pit. The block now has a hipped roof, although this would originally have been pitched. The external faces of all three blocks have putlogs, the regularly spaced, square holes which housed the original wooden medieval scaffolding poles used to aid the construction of the building. (15)
A gazetteer of medieval houses in Kent, including an entry for Old Soar Manor. (16)
Wall painting condition audit. This condition audit of wall paintings at Plaxtol includes a wall painting record, general audit information, documentation of original materials and execution of the painting, and deterioration and damage including previously used materials and treatment, as well as proposals for treatment and monitoring strategies. (17)
A brief history and description. (18)
A description and assessment of the defensive properties of the manor house, as well as an account of the documentary evidence relating to the origins of the 'Old Soar' name and manor ownership. (19)
An archaeological watching brief was undertaken for an extension to the farmhouse. One of the foundation trenches which ran parallel to the farmhouse exposed areas of archaeological interest. The trench exposed two areas of medieval stone walls, built of large lumps of Kentish Ragstone, and set in a lime mortar with associated stratification. One of the areas of medieval walls running north-west/south-east was badly truncated by a modern sewer pipe, but excavation of the foundation bed of lime mortar below the pipe revealed in a secure context a single fresh, large sherd of early medieval shell-tempered pottery dated to about c.1150-1175/1200AD. No other archaeological features apart from the associated stratification to the two medieval walls were revealed during the cutting of the foundation trenches. (20)
A journal article by Jayne Semple FSA, published in 2009, examines the development of Old Soar Manor, its lands and the families associated with it. The house was formerly known as "Sore Alias Hores" and the earliest family that may have been associated with it are the Hore family (the family name is also rendered as Shur/Soar in some documents). It is conjectured that they may have been connected with the manor house or even built it, from about 1290. They appear to have been succeeded in the late 1340s by the Colepeper family. Initially they may have leased the manor to others rather than live there, but in the 16th century documentary evidence shows that the Colepepers did reside there. Sir Thomas Colepeper sold "Sores" to a rich yeoman, Nicholas Myller. The Myller family remained owners until 1716, when it passed to Elizabeth Bartholemew, the sister of the last of the Myller/Miller line. The Myller/Millers had leased the house to the Gyles, Ffenne and Furner families. The Furners remained tenants until perhaps about 1750, when they were replaced as tenants by the Knowles Family. In the 19th century, among the known tenants are the Noakes and Wildash families. The house passed to Sir William Geary in about 1899 and in 1944 to Mrs SL Cannon. In 1947 Mrs. Cannon gave the medieval wing to the National trust, who involved the Ministry of Works in a restoration programme.
The house itself began with as an aisled timber frame hall and a fortified stone solar end, built of local rough coursed ragstone. It is the latter part of the Medieval building that survives, along with a fragmentary traces of the upper end of the former beside the doorway to the solar (including a decorated corbel, remnants of a stone dais base and segmental arched doorway to the solar staircase). The solar wing has an attached chapel and also a garderobe. The building was "modernized" in the 16th-17th centuries. A major change came when William Knowles demolished most of the old timber hall in 1780 and replaced it with a red brick farmhouse. In the 19th century the solar was used as a granary. Graffiti from the tenants and their farm workers has been found in the roof of the solar. (21)
At the time of amending this record in 2011, online access to the different elements of designation information relating to this building complex is available through the National Heritage List for England. (22-24)
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