Girish Mahajan (Editor)

St John's Jerusalem

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Type
  
Manor House

Country
  
United Kingdom

Inaugurated
  
1199

Town or city
  
Sutton-at-Hone, Kent

Phone
  
+44 1732 810378

St John's Jerusalem

Alternative names
  
Sutton Manor; the Manor of Sutton-at-Hone

Address
  
St John's Jerusalem, Sutton at Hone, Dartford DA4 9HS, UK

Owner
  
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

Similar
  
National Trust ‑ Petts Wo, Owletts, Old Soar Manor, Rainham Hall, Eynsford Castle

St. John's Jerusalem or Sutton-at-Hone Preceptory is a National Trust property at Sutton-at-Hone, Kent, England which includes the 13th century chapel of the Knights Hospitaller and a garden moated by the River Darent. It is open to the public on Wednesday afternoons from April to October.

Contents

History

It was established in 1199 as a Commandry of the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem until it was sold to Sir Maurice Denys, the Receiver of the Order at the time of the Dissolution. The mediaeval sections of the property were predominantly constructed around 1234, when Henry III procured the felling of five oak trees from Tonbridge Forest. By 1388, the property had ceased to be used as a preceptory.

Naturalist Abraham Hill established an orchard here in 1670, with apples and pears from Herefordshire and Devon that were used for making cider and perry. Varieties that were introduced into Kent as a result included the Kentish Pippin. From 1755 it was the home of the county historian of Kent, Edward Hasted. His excessive expenditure on the property may have been responsible for his bankruptcy in 1796, and subsequent term of imprisonment of five years.

The building was given to the nation in 1943 by Sir Stephen Tallents, and was open to the public twice a week in the 1950s. The property has been a Grade II* listed building since 1 August 1952 and was scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as a site of national importance by the Secretary of State for National Heritage on 5 September 1994. It is now let from the National Trust as a private residence. Public access is to the chapel and garden only.

Priors of the Hospital

Radyngton, John, fl 1396

Grounds

The moat dates from the 13th century, and surrounds an artificial island of 22,200m2. The moat is bridged three times, including by a Grade II listed 19th century brick footbridge. The grounds contain a Cedar of Lebanon. Only the south-western section of the moat is part of the River Darent. The moat has, however, suffered from environmental problems. It ran dry in both 1976 and 1988 and was affected by sedimentation and pollution after a recent dredging of the Darent. The dredging was attempted in order to foster the appearance of a 1930s Country Life setting. However, it had to be halted after it was discovered that scheduled monument consent had not been obtained. Although it was subsequently granted, the sustainability of such techniques has been called into question.

The garden also hosts a former fishpond, now occupied by marshlands. Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the lawn to the north of the property was used as burial ground for the chapel, but thereafter as a midden.

References

St John's Jerusalem Wikipedia