Crowhurst Place

The origins of Crowhurst Place are those of a traditional hall house of the early 15th century. It was built for the Gaynesfords, a family of wealthy yeomen. Ian Nairn, Nikolaus Pevsner and Bridget Cherry, in the 1971 revised Surrey 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 style. Working firstly for himself, and subsequently for Consuelo Vanderbilt, Crawley greatly expanded the original medieval hall house. The result, "remarkable…

The house is approached over a drawbridge, which crosses a defensive moat. 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 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 Grade I listed building. and a dovecot, are both by Crawley, date from around 1920 and are both listed Grade II. A granary and barn on the estate are 15th century in origin and are…