Horton Kirby Court Lodge (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Horton Kirby And South Darenth.
In the historic county of Kent.
Modern Authority of Kent.
1974 county of Kent.
Medieval County of Kent.

OS Map Grid Reference: TQ56106859
Latitude 51.39488° Longitude 0.24239°

Horton Kirby Court Lodge has been described as a probable Fortified Manor House.

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*.

Description

This was originally Horton Castle and the majority of the site lies to the south of the existing house. The main portion of the south end dates from the C18. Two storeys faced with rough plaster. Hipped tiled roof. Three sashes with glazing bars intact. C19 porch. The portion to the north of this, now the centre portion is probably older. Two storeys faced with plaster. Tiled roof. Two casement windows. At the north end is a C19 addition of one storey and 2 windows in painted brick with a slate roof and sash windows without glazing bars. The house was considerably altered by Mr George Smith the surveyor who also altered the church tower. (Listed Building Report)

The old Castle or Court Lodge, metamorphosed into the present indifferent farmhouse by Mr George Smith, was some 80 feet square and entirely encompassed by a moat connected with the Darenth River. The outer walls were 4 feet thick. The principal rooms towards the river have long been destroyed. The present brick bridge of one arch replaces a drawbridge attached to the gatehouse (Cresy). The plan shows what appears to be a moated manor-house. Main portion, south end 18th century, 2 storeys faced with rough plaster, hipped tiled roof. Portion to N of this probably older. 19th century addition at N end. To the S of the house is the site of the Castle of which nothing survives above ground, unless any remains are incorporated in the interior of the house (At TQ 56176860 - 'A' Dovecot). Ornamental C18th round building, flint-faced, with buff brick dressings. Nearly conical tiled roof with sqaure wood structure, bird's entrance, with hipped tiled roof (MHLG Schedule Dartford HLG 3541 1952). The S and E walls of the 18th century part of the house, are of exceptional thickness and undoubtedly incorporate remains of the original building. There are stone quoins at the SE corner up to the eaves. Mr W.R.Rogers, the owner, stated that foundations were encountered during the construction of a tennis court on the W side of the house. An old print of the early 19th century in his possession shows the gatehouse and brick bridge over a water-filled moat on the E side. Gatehouse and bridge are gone, but the moat can be traced on this side and around the NE corner, but it is not surveyable. The dovecot is as described. The buildings are in good condition (F1 ASP 15-JUL-60). (PastScape)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1239062
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 409888.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) TQ 73 NW 2.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- CastleUK.net
Books
- Salter, Mike, 2000, The Castles of Kent (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 48
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 238 (reject)
  Tester, Peter, 1981, 'The Court Lodge at Horton Kirby' in A. Detsicas (ed), Collectanea Historica: Essays in Memory of Stuart Rigold (Kent Archaeological Society) p. 163-173
  Newman, John, 1976, Buildings of England: West Kent and the Weald (Harmondsworth) p. 336
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  Hasted, Edward, 1797 (2edn), The history and topographical survey of the county of Kent Vol. 2 p. 494- online transcription
Periodical Articles
- 1932, Transactions of the Dartford and District Antiquarian Society Vol. 2 p. 17-37
  Sparvel-Bayly, J.A., 1887, The Antiquary Vol. 15 p. 61-2 online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Sevenoaks District Council, December 2003, Horton Kirby Conservation Area Appraisal p. 8 online copy
  Cresy, E., 1857, Horton Kirby (MS notes in Dartford Borough Library) (significant parts and sketch reproduced in Tester 1981)

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The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.

The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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