Wall parallel and to the north-west of The Coach House at Old St Albans Court, Nonington, Kent

Summary

Circa 1869 Kentish ragstone wall with attached mounting block by the architect George Devey.

Description

This wall was built c1869 by George Devey as part of works at the stable block and it separates the stable block from the gardens at Old St Albans Court. It comprises a low wall to the north-west constructed of blocks of Kentish ragstone terminating at each end in square gate piers with pyramidal tops. A stone mounting block is attached at the south-east end of its south elevation. A further smaller section of similar wall with a stone pier is situated to the south-east on the other side of a driveway, which is edged by curbing stones.

History

Old St Albans Court, (formerly called St. Albans Court and before that the Manor of Eswalt) gained its name from the gift of the manor in 1087 by the Earl of Albemarle to the Abbot of St Albans in Hertfordshire. The abbey leased the manor for rent. The foundations of Old St Albans Court appear to be C14 but the first known reference to the property under the name St Albans is in a will of 1509. In 1519 the lease of St Albans Court was gifted to John Hammond in the will of Thomas Quylter of Nonington. The will of John Hammond, who died in 1525, refers to a chamber on the south side newly built and building work still ongoing. Circa 1539 ownership passed to Sir Christopher Hales, Master of the Rolls, but in 1551 Thomas Hammond purchased the estate in 1551 and in 1556 he was engaged in a major rebuilding of the house in brick. The 1616 probate inventory for Edward Hammond lists twenty-six rooms. About 1665 there was a major rebuilding and a new front was added on the north-east side. In 1790 William Hammond altered the north-east front adding octagonal wings, which are shown in a print of 1838.

In 1869 William Oxenden Hammond commissioned the architect George Devey to build a stable block and a home farm to the south-west of the main house and to refurbish the existing house. The architect's drawings of the stable block are held in the RIBA library. These stable and associated buildings appear on the 1873 Ordnance Survey map linked by a series of walls. In 1875 William Oxenden Hammond decided to build a new house as the old one had 'fallen into a decayed state'. The new house, St Albans Court, designed by George Devey, was built between 1875-8 on the hill to the north-east of Old St Albans Court. After 1876 the owner demolished the post-1665 part of Old St Albans Court, which reduced its size by more than half and it became a gardener's house. The post-1665 part of the house is still shown on the 1873 Ordnance Survey map but is no longer shown on the 1898 version. The Hammond family sold the estate in 1936, St Albans Court became a training college and Old St Alban's Court and the service buildings remained in the same ownership.

In 1986 as part of a re-survey of parishes in Dover District St Albans Court was listed at Grade I, Old St Albans Court was listed at grade II*, the Caretaker's Cottage and Stable Court and some C16 and C19 walls were listed at Grade II. In the same year the college closed. St Albans Court changed ownership and Old St Alban's Court, together with the former stable block and caretaker's house, were sold into separate ownership. The former cattle shed and granary attached to the Caretaker's Cottage was adapted to form a separate residence called Home Farm. A large L-range of farm buildings to the north-east of the Caretaker's Cottage, cattle shed and granary shown on Ordnance Survey maps between 1873 and 1938 no longer exists and was replaced in the late C20 by two residential properties Home Farm Lodge and Stable Cottage.

Reasons for Listing

Wall with attached mounting block is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Group value: It is part of George Devey's stable block scheme for William Oxenden Hammond at Old St Alban's Court
* Historic interest: mounting blocks are routinely listed as reminders of the former pre-eminence of horse transport

External Links

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