By Lyn Funnell
We visited the National Trust property Ightham Mote yesterday.
I had been corrected as I was pronouncing its name wrong.
It’s called Item Mote.
But why?
Apparently it’s named after two ancient Anglo-Saxon words, Eyot and Ham, which mean Island Home. This is because the Medieval house is surrounded by a shallow moat, so it looks like an island.
I do love the National Trust parking. Small logs make it clear where to park, and they’re wide enough for the largest cars.
We parked and walked along to Reception. There was the usual National Trust set-up; we checked in at Reception, and walked through to the loos, restaurant, and second-hand bookshop, which we always head for on the way out.
As we walked down the hill, the house was clearly seen, and it makes you pause and say Wow!
It’s absolutely beautiful. You’re transported back through the centuries.
It’s the oldest moated manor house in England.
There are free talks given at the Entrance regularly and the speakers are enthusiastic and bursting with knowledge.
Ightham Mote was built starting around the 1320s by Thomas Cawne and his family and the outside is mainly untouched.
The house was lived in through the centuries. In 1889 another Thomas, Thomas Colyer-Fergusson and his wife Beatrice bought the house and added central heating, electricity and bathrooms connected to the mains water supply.
In the early 20th Century the Colyer-Fergussons opened the house to the public, charging two shillings’ admission. There was a great interest in the Medieval house.
Soon after that the house was put up for sale. It was in a bad state of repair.
Three businessmen bought it in October 1951 for £5,500. They had it listed as a Grade 1 building so that it couldn’t be demolished.
Charles Henry Robinson bought it in 1953. He was the last private owner.
He died in 1985 aged 93 and he’d bequeathed it to the National Trust.
We walked over the bridge through the huge original wooden doors and into the Courtyard.
The house lines the Courtyard on every side.
Straight ahead is the only listed dog kennel.
It was built in 1890 by Sir Thomas Colyer-Fergusson for Dido, his St Bernard.
When Dido died Sir Thomas had two Chihuahuas. How’s that for a contrast?
We followed the route around the house, walking from room to room.
Houses that old didn’t have any corridors.
I’ll let you explore it for yourself.
My favourite room was the Drawing Room. It has hand-painted Chinese wallpaper from the early 1800s and a glorious fireplace that was fitted in 1612.
It was so big that they actually raised the ceiling to fit it in!
Outside and facing you is the Billiard Room. It used to be workshops and Sir Thomas Colyer-Fergussen had it built in Victorian times.
There is a door leading to the Mote where the men would relieve themselves straight into the Mote so that they didn’t have to stop playing for long – and probably so that nobody could cheat while they weren’t there!
There are lovely gardens to walk round. They’re not very ornamental as the house was always a private home and not used for lavish entertainment.
We finished our day with a picnic in the grounds while wishing that we could live in a house like that.
If only the house could talk. Imagine the sights that it’s seen through the centuries.
The only problem is, our language has changed so much over time that we wouldn’t be able to understand a word that it said!
Ightham Mote
Kent
Outstanding 14th-century moated manor house, gardens and estate
Mote Road, Ivy Hatch, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN15 0NT (satnav TN15 0NU
