Description

1005/8/6 CANON'S HILL
TQ31295823 Coulsdon
15-FEB-1983 The Grange

GV II

House, used as control centre for Kenley airfield during Second World War. Central part C16 with early C18 additions to front and rear, the front range remodelled in early C19. Much C20 refenestration. Rendered over brickwork to front, timber framing to central part and brick and stone rubble to rear. Slate roof with five rendered chimneystacks. Two storeys attics and basement with mainly irregular fenestration. Diffuse plan with two ranges to the front and an L-wing to rear.
EXTERIOR: Front or west elevation of two storeys was remodelled in the early C 19 with stucco with incised lines to imitate masonry and is of two storeys three windows. First floor has central casement flanked by tripartite casements. Ground floor has large segmental bays with central French windows flanked by wide gable to front, smaller gable to centre and section with hipped roof to rear. Irregular fenestration including two 12-pane sashes, two 16-pane sashes and later casements. French window to front range. East elevation has C18 doorcase with flat hood on console brackets and six-panelled door and mixture of sashes and casements. South elevation has a mixture of C20 casements and sashes and French window to front range. Return of rear range has external chimneystack.
INTERIOR: Central part incorporates two bays of a C16 timberframed house with first floorwall with curved brace and mullioned window visible and blocked window on the other side. Front range is C18 and retains a cambered fireplace with keystone to the front left room and internal partitions of brick and thin timberframing. Otherwise this range was refurbished in the early C19 with hall with wooden panels, moulded architraves with six-panelled doors, large alcove and two round-headed niches to front left room, stick staircase with mahogany handrail, large column to first floor corridor and bedroom with marble fireplace with paterae and pilasters. Attics were boarded over in C20 but lath and plaster is visible. The rear range has a large room with two chamfered beams and open fireplace with shelf and a six-panelled door leading to staircase, straight flight to first floor and half-winder to attic.
HISTORY: In the Middle Ages a monastic grange located to the rear of the present property was occupied by the Abbot's bailiff. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries the property passed to Sir Nicholas Carewe. The rear part of the present building was thought to have been added in 1625 and the front added c1720. In 1850 it was renamed The Grange. Finally in 1940 the building became the control centre for Kenley Airport and played an important role for front line operations in Northern Europe during the Battle of Britain. A first floor ceiling was removed to produce a perimeter gallery where the Controller and his staff could see the map of S E England on the Operations table below. An advance in radio communications was carried out here at the end of 1940 with a Very High Frequency System which improved reception. Famous people who visited at this time include Winston Churchill, the Australian statesman Robert Menzies, Lord Nuffield and King George VI.

Listing NGR: TQ3129958241

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26351491

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
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  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
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  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)