Driving along the A22 between Nutley and Forest Row, a little south of Wych Cross, there’s a sign at the end of a driveway that reads “Chelwood Vachery.” For years, Hub and I would pass by and say to each other “what the heck’s a vachery?”
We since found out and as it was a word totally unknown to us and it relates to a historical property slap bang in the middle of the beautiful Ashdown Forest (see my Winnie the Pooh article), it seems to fit the bill for a feature in Unknown Kent and Sussex.
The origin of the name isn’t entirely obscure. There are early references to Vecchery Wood and other variants referenced are “Vaccary” and “Vetchery.” It’s the latter that was in use when the main house of what is now a collection of residences called Chelwood Vachery was built in 1906 by Sir Stuart Samuel, a Liberal MP. In 1925, Samuel sold the entire estate, a total of 101 acres, including the house, to a Mr. F.J Nettlefold.
Nettlefold, and his spouse, were interesting characters and we’ll come back to them in a short while. First, returning to the name, Vachery, as adopted by Nettlefold, means a dairy or cattle yard, and there is some evidence that cattle were kept on the site in medieval times.
The historical interest in the house, therefore, is inextricably linked with the history of the forest itself. And what a history it has. The first recorded mention of Ashdown Forest is in 1372 when Edward III granted the “Free Chase of Ashdown” to his third son, John of Gaunt. Word is that John had Wycliffe the Reformer stay with him in a hunting lodge within the Vachery grounds. It’s quite possible that it was whilst within the seclusion of Chelwood, Wycliffe worked on the first English language bible and produced the ideas that earned him the title “Great Father of the Reformation.”
Smuggling was rife during the Napoleonic Wars and the Ashdown Forest offered a convenience journey’s rest, situated halfway between the South Coast and London. Smugglers hid their loads in the undergrowth and took refreshments in the Roebuck at Wych Cross (still a hotel) and The Hatch at Coleman’s Hatch (still a popular and very quaint pub).
This area was also once the main iron district in England with iron having been worked as early as Saxon times and possibly even by the Celts before that. The forest provided an ideal source of fuel for the smelting furnaces. One famous example of Ashdown Forest iron is the railings surrounding St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Some place names still allude to its iron-making days, not least of which is the listed building called Trimmers situated within the Chelwood Vachery grounds. This tudor-style barn was originally sited in the valley near the Medway between Tablehurst Manor and Brambletye Castle. Nettlefold found and purchased it in 1930 in a state of some decay. He employed H. & E. Waters to dismantle, move and reassemble it on its current site. It was to act as a theatre for Mrs Nettlefold who was heavily involved in amateur dramatics.
In fact, Trimmers’ origins begin sometime between 1280 and 1320, according to the dating of many of its timbers and panels. Larger plaster panels were added 200 years later, giving it its tudor appearance. During World War II, Trimmer housed troops of The Lancers, The London Irish, The Royal Canadian Artillery and The Royal Engineers.
One of the most appealing aspects of living in the original Main House that Sir Samuel built is the surrounding landscaped gardens. This is not surprising when we discover that they were the creation of Rome Guthrie, one of our greatest landscape gardeners. Guthrie land out the lawns and terraces and rhododendron garden that remain features of the grounds to this day.
Nettlefold continued to stock the gardens, particularly adding to the rhododendron collection through sponsored expeditions to North China and Tibet. He also enlisted Gavin Jones, master of landscaping with water and rocks, who laid out rockeries, lily ponds and lakes. Some of the rocks weighed up to three tons and were brought by steam wagon from Cheddar Gorge before being loaded onto a railway that was constructed from the main road across the forest to get the rocks on site. One can only imagine the feat of engineering this was in 1928 – and the tailbacks that might have been caused by the steam engine!
Sadly, some of these latter features were lost during the war years when the grounds were used for troop training. After the house was sold in 1955 to British American Tobacco (BAT), James Mackenzie, who was Principal of Chelwood Vachery for BAT from 1956-1973, oversaw the task of restoring the gardens. He was able to make the woods into a bird sanctuary, replanted the alpine rockery and reclaimed the lakes. He was so successful that the company opened up the grounds every year so the public could enjoy the grounds, in particular, the magnificent rhododendrons, some reaching over 30 ft in height.
BAT’s top management would come from its locations all over the world to attend training at Chelwood Vachery. Word was that if you got to Chelwood, you’d really “made it” with BAT. During this time, Trimmers – Mrs Nettlefold’s old theatre – became the most popular building on site as it was the bar and social club.
Now, all the residences on site are private with the imposing main house divided into four units, each of them very large with wonderful period features. As I write, the largest of the four parts of the main house is on the market. It consists of seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, three reception rooms and almost 6,000 sq ft of space. This house has a 40ft x 20ft drawing room with a sprung oak parquet floor that was the ballroom of the original house built by Sir Stuart Samuel. This same room can be seen in an old BAT brochure as the main dining room for the management trainees, complete with uniformed maids and chef.
Thanks to Chelwood Vachery’s position in its huge grounds, and these being within the 6,500 acres of the Ashdown Forest, even current government housebuilding targets are unlikely to encroach upon the privacy of this beautiful house and its stunning surroundings. Let’s hope whoever lives there enjoys being in such a truly historical property.
