Crowhurst Place, Crowhurst,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England is a medieval

hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...

dating from the early 15th century. In the 20th century, the house was reconstructed and enlarged by George A. Crawley, firstly for himself and subsequently for

Consuelo Vanderbilt Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan (formerly Consuelo Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; born Consuelo Vanderbilt; 2 March 1877 – 6 December 1964) was an American socialite and member of the Vanderbilt family. Her first marriage to the 9th D ...

, Duchess of Marlborough. It is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The origins of Crowhurst Place are those of a traditional

of the early 15th century. It was built for the Gaynesfords, a family of wealthy

yeomen Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century witnessed ...

Ian Nairn Ian Douglas Nairn (24 August 1930 – 14 August 1983) was a British architectural critic who coined the word "Subtopia" to indicate drab suburbs that look identical through unimaginative town-planning. He published two strongly personalised cr ...

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...

and

Bridget Cherry Bridget Cherry (born 17 May 1941) is a British architectural historian who was series editor of the Pevsner Architectural Guides from 1971 until 2002, and is the author or co-author of several volumes in the series.Pevsner Buildings of England, give a construction date of circa. 1425. In the early 20th century, the estate was bought by George A. Crawley, a decorator and designer rather than a trained architect, who developed a small, but successful practice in reconstructing traditional buildings in a

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

style. Working firstly for himself, and subsequently for

, Crawley greatly expanded the original medieval

. The result, "remarkable in its own right", saw Crawley add extensions, chimneys, gables, linenfold panelling and large amounts of half-timbering. Life at Crowhurst in the early stages of reconstruction was not without its challenges. Crawley's friend, and biographer, the politician

Cuthbert Headlam Sir Cuthbert Morley Headlam, 1st Baronet, (27 April 1876 – 27 February 1964) was a British Conservative politician. Career Born in Barton upon Irwell, Lancashire, the third of the five sons of Francis John Headlam (1829–1908), stipendiary ...

, recorded the first Christmas celebrated at the house, in his memoir of Crawley. Guests were obliged to huddle together for warmth in front of the fireplace in the great hall, as drifts of snow gusted in through large cracks in the building's frame. Ultimately, the discomfort proved too great for Crawley's wife, and the house was sold to Consuelo Vanderbilt in 1910. Consuelo Vanderbilt, great-granddaughter of Commodore

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

, had married the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1895. The marriage brought status and social position to the Vanderbilts, and money to the Marlboroughs, but happiness to neither Consuelo nor her husband. By 1906, they were living apart, although they did not divorce until 1921. In searching for a new home after her separation, Consuelo was drawn to Crowhurst Palace, its Tudor appearance a stark contrast to the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

grandeur of

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace ( ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough. Originally called Blenheim Castle, it has been known as Blenheim Palace since the 19th century. One of England's larg ...

, a house she loathed. Crawley continued work on the house for its new owner, with ultimately over half the building being rebuilt or constructed afresh on old foundations, and the remainder being heavily restored. Consuelo remained at the house until 1921, when she moved to France following her second marriage to Jacques Balsan, an aviator and entrepreneur. Martin Conway, writing in '' Country Life'', considered Crawley's reconstruction gave the remains of the original manor, "a beauty far greater than was ever theirs in the days of its newness". Nairn, Pevsner and Cherry note the sense of

escapism Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism also may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or general s ...

which inspired much of the Tudor Revival, calling Crowhurst, "an extreme example of the English flight from reality around the 1914-18 war". Later owners of Crowhurst Place included Sir John Davis, Chairman of

The Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation (founded as the J. Arthur Rank Organisation) is a British entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1937 by industrialist J. Arthur Rank. It quickly became the largest and most vertical integration, ve ...

, and

Adam Faith Terence Nelhams Wright (23 June 1940 – 8 March 2003), known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. As a British rock and roll teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK singles chart with " What ...

, the singer. As at 2020, the house was for sale.

Architecture and description

The house is approached over a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

, which crosses a defensive

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

. The original buildings comprise the central hall, with a single further chamber separated by a screens passage. The North and South wings are additions by Crawley, who also altered the roofline, adding a porch, an

oriel window An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window generally projects from an ...

and an array of Tudoresque chimney stacks. The main block is of two storeys, with a six-bay frontage. The construction materials are timber, with brick and stone plinths and brick infilling. Crowhurst Place is a

. The lodge, and a dovecot, are both by Crawley, date from around 1920 and are both listed Grade II. A

granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

and barn on the estate are 15th century in origin and are listed Grade II*, while another barn is later, of the 16th century, and is listed Grade II.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{cite book , first=Amanda Mackenzie , last=Stuart , title=Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt , url=https://archive.org/details/consueloalvavand00stua/page/178 , year=2005 , location=London , publisher=Harper Collins , isbn=978-0-066-21418-4 Country houses in Surrey Grade I listed houses Grade I listed buildings in Surrey