Nutfield Priory is a Grade II listed

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

Nutfield, Surrey Nutfield is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. It lies in the Weald immediately south of the Greensand Ridge and has a Nutfield railway station, railway station at South Nutfield which is one stop from Redhill ...

. It was constructed between 1872 and 1874 by John Gibson. It is now a hotel and health spa.

History

In the 13th century, Reigate Priory was founded on this site by

William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey (born 1160s-1170s, died 27 May 1240) was the son of Hamelin de Warenne and Isabel, daughter of William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey. His father Hamelin granted him the manor of Appleby, North Lincolns ...

. The land was taken by the Crown during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but was subsequently given to

William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham (c. 151012 January 1573) was an English diplomat and military leader. He served four monarchs, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, in various official capacities, most notably on diplo ...

, uncle of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

's fifth wife

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the s ...

. In 1681, the estate was sold to the brewer John Parsons. It was divided into lots for sale in 1766; what became Nutfield Priory is a site bought by John Fowler. The estate was inherited by John Fowler Wood and sold to H E Gurney, a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

, in 1854. In 1866, Gurney's firm Overend Gurney declared bankruptcy, owing £19 million. The estate was sold to the brewer

James Watney James Watney (18 December 1800–16 March 1884) was an English brewer and landowner who resided at Haling Park, Croydon, and Beddington, Surrey. He was born to Daniel Watney (1771–1831) of Mitcham, Surrey and Mary Galpin (1771–1830), ...

, who in turn sold it to the member of parliament Joshua Fielden in 1869. Fielden commissioned Gibson to design and build the present building, and held regular music recitals and events during his time there. He adhered to a rigid lifestyle, with guests not speaking to each other and following a predefined routine. Following Fielden's death in 1887, ownership of the priory passed to his wife Ellen. She sold the house in 1920, where it remained a private residence before being sold again to O Picton Davis in 1930, who converted it into a luxury hotel with a nine-hole golf course. The priory was commandeered by the British Army 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 opposin ...

. It was subsequently used as a school for the deaf, installing

closed circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

to aid with teaching. It was renovated as a hotel in 1989, restoring much of the original architecture. It was Grade II listed in 2011.

Architecture

Gibson designed the house in a neo-Gothic manner in the style of the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

. The priory is built from Kentish ragstone rubble and dressed with

Reigate Stone Reigate Stone is a freestone that was mined from the Upper Greensand in north east Surrey. It was used in building work throughout the middle ages and early modern period. It is sometimes classified as a calcareous sandstone, although very li ...

. It is composed of two storeys and an attic, with a tiled roof. A six-storey tower hangs over the main entrance on the north side, while there is a three-storey projection to the west.

References

Citations Sources * * * *

External links

* {{commons category Grade II listed houses in Surrey