Squerryes Court

History

The site has been inhabited for at least 800 years. According to the Domesday Book, in 1086 the Manor of Westerham was held by Earl Eustace de Boulogne, granted to him by William the Conqueror. Before that it was held by Earl Godwin under Edward the Confessor.

A substantial timber-framed hall house stood on this site before the present house was built between 1681 and 1685. From before 1272 it was owned by the Squery family, whose arms were A squirrel browsing on a hazelnut, until Sir Thomas Squery died in 1439. His daughter Margaret inherited, and on her death in 1448 the estate went to her son William Crowmer. The land changed hands many times; in the 1680s, the previous house was torn down and the present house built by Sir Nicholas Crispe. The house is set on a terrace and has a two-storey central block of seven bays under a steep, hipped slate roof with pedimented gables and dormers. It is a compact, oblong house, constructed of mellow orange brick. The original building was built flanked by two small wings forming a forecourt, but these were demolished and replaced in the 19th century. The replacement wings were themselves torn down after the Second World War and only the main block now remain.

In 1700, the property was sold by Sir Nicholas's son to Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey. The third earl sold it in 1731 to John Warde, whose great uncle Sir Patience Warde had been Lord Mayor of London in 1680. Subsequently, his father also achieved that office as well as becoming one of the first Governors of the Bank of England.

The building, which is in early Georgian style, houses a fine collection of Old Master paintings from the Italian, 17th century Dutch and 18th century English schools, together with furniture, porcelain and tapestries, all of which were acquired or commissioned by the family in the 18th century. Items connected with General James Wolfe, victor of the battle of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham and a friend of the Warde family, are also on display.

The house and gardens were open to the public for tours from 1952 until September 2012, when the Warde family moved into the house.

Gardens

The gardens at Squerryes Court cover some 10 acres (around 4 hectares) and include a dovecote, lake, gazebo, and parterres. Just after the house was built, they were laid out in formal style. When the Warde family acquired the estate in 1731, they reshaped the garden to adhere to the more fashionable natural landscape style. During the Great Storm of 1987, 147 trees fell in the garden, after which the Warde family began redesigning the garden in the old formal style based on the original plans and a print dated 1709.

Estate

The Squerryes Estate consists of 2,500 acres and borders Surrey to the west and Greater London to the north.

All the farms on the estate have been amalgamated into a single agricultural unit. There is a 200-head dairy herd which produces milk for Marks & Spencer. The calves are reared on the farm; the Friesian heifers join the herd, while the bull calves and cross-bred heifers are grown for beef using the natural grazing in the park. The arable land produces millet wheat, malting barley, and oilseed rape, together with oats, barley, and beans for the cattle.

One third of the estate is woodland. Almost all of the traditional farm buildings have been restored and converted into offices or workshops, which are let to local businesses. Some farm houses and cottages have been refurbished and let to tenants.

Sparkling wine

The Squerryes Estate began planting its vineyards in 2006, and the first vintage was produced in 2010. The label currently sells two styles of sparkling wine: brut and rosé.

Popular culture

Squerryes Court has been used as an exterior and interior location for many films, serving as:

In 2015, a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was put on at the house, directed by Ian Hughes and with a cast drawn from classical theatre companies.