Hardwick Court Farm, Hardwick Court when a manor, is a large farm with farmhouse in the west of

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in t ...

, Surrey, England and was first established during the Saxon period. A Saxon main road to Chertsey once ran through it but is now reduced to just a farm track.

History

''Court'' in the name refers to the Court of the Manor and

Hundred Court A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, C ...

s were held in the

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious orga ...

which was built in the mid-15th century for

Chertsey Abbey Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey. It was founded in 666 AD by Saint Erkenwald who was the first abbot, and from 675 AD the Bishop of London. At the same time ...

, who then owned the farm, to store

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...

s a form of taxes in kind. This court was for minor offences or to settle arguments.

Tithing A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...

s across Chertsey had several evolved names, this one was formerly Lolworth and Rookbury and earliest seen as Hardwitch before settling on Hardwick. A first reference to it Hardwick, a manor, occurs in 1430 when it was held by the abbey and assigned to William Frowyk to farm. As an Abbot's asset, the farming tenant was in early years only in receipt of half of the waifs and strays in the land of the manor. Its land at the time of the abbey's dissolution the underlying title was taken by

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

, and then or shortly after, was in the tenure of William Cooke, afterwards leased with the manor to Sir William Fitz William in 1550 and afterwards to his widow Joan, who died in 1574; afterwards leased, in 1589, to Richard Lilley, this time without the manor. Perhaps with this family, at the start of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

the farm was held by the Royalists who lost the war. The victorious Parliamentarians captured the farm and kept a document listing all of the land owned by Parliament. Hardwick Court was

confiscated Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, ...

and awarded to Robert Boscoes or Bowes, thereafter including the farm and manor of Hardwick. After the war and temporary government (what was termed 'the Commonwealth') on the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

of the Monarchy, the farm was returned to the royal family and was one of many possessions in Surrey and elsewhere presented from King Charles II to his wife. The farm remained in royal family overall ownership until the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

period, when it was sold.

Modern History

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

the farm was hit by three

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

bombs in 1940. One landed on the East side of Cockcrow Hill, leaving a crater that was not filled-in until late 2019. Another hit one end of the farmhouse and destroyed the kitchen, part of the dining room, a bedroom and part of the attic. The house survived and but was not rebuilt in its original form and size. A third bomb damaged the South end of the tithe barn which was later repaired. In 1963 the farm came up for sale and was bought by veterinarian Dr Carl Boyde. The farm was divided up and a portion of the farm had an impressive miniature railway built on it called 'the Great Cockcrow Railway', which opened in 1968 and survives to this day. A leading local historian, the late Bernard Pardoe, researched the history of the farm in detail (and apparently published his findings circa 1964) and journalist Howard Johnson also featured the history of the farm in an unidentified local newspaper in the 1980s. A fire broke out at the south end in 1978 but the damage was repaired and this example of medieval building remains in agricultural use today. During the 1970s the farm was reduced in size, similarly to its earlier loss on land on earlier sales, when the M25 motorway was routed through two of its fields and separated the farm from Chertsey, though a tunnel bridge exists to the southeast of the farm allowing the A320 to access Chertsey.Map
created by

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

, courtesy of

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

() In 2007 the farm was at the front line in the fight against

foot and mouth Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, follow ...

disease as it was only three hundred yards away from where hundreds of cattle had to be killed.

Architecture

While the farmhouse has been rebuilt several times, the barn is a rare survivor of its kind,Hardwick Court Barn on Hardwick Lane Grade II listing was

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

in 1952 and was dated in 2009 by the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

using dendrochronology to 1445. Hardwick Court farmhouse dates to the 16th century (

Tudor period The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began wit ...

) with substantial other parts 17th century, with two great

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s, three chimneys, made of red brick.

Mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

transom (architecture) In architecture, a transom is a transverse horizontal structural beam or bar, or a crosspiece separating a door from a window above it. This contrasts with a mullion, a vertical structural member. Transom or transom window is also the customary ...

windows form some of the windows and the right hand portion of the house damaged by enemy action and was rebuilt on rather different lines from the original.Hardwick Court Farmhouse Grade II listing

Neighbouring site

Miniature railway, Great Cockcrow Railway is adjoining the farm.

Notes and references

;Notes ;References {{Runnymede Buildings and structures in Surrey Farms in Surrey