Smiths Hall, known as West Farleigh Hall from the early 20th century until the 1990s, is an 18th-century country house in
West Farleigh
West Farleigh is a village and civil parish four miles (6km) southwest of Maidstone in the county of Kent. The parish has a population of approximately 450, and is bounded by the civil parishes of East Farleigh, Hunton, Yalding, and over the Ri ...
, Kent.
History
A house on the site of Smiths Hall was owned by the Brewer family from the mid-15th century until 1762 when the house and estate was left by Jane Brewer to her cousin Rev. John Davis, Rector of
Hamsey
Hamsey is a civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The parish covers a large area () and consists of the villages of Hamsey, Offham and Cooksbridge. The main centres of population in the parish are now Offham and Cooksbridge. ...
,
East Sussex. Davis died in 1766 and the estate passed to his son Sir John Davis who sold it in 1774 to William Perrin.
Perrin died in 1820.
By 1838, the house was owned by
Sir Henry FitzHerbert,
[ son of Sir William FitzHerbert and his wife Sarah FitzHerbert (née Perrin, and probably William Perrin's niece). Around 1921, Henry Arthur Hannen son of the Baron Hannen was living in the hall.
]
Buildings
The current house was constructed in 1719 as recorded in the dated rainwater hoppers. It is two-storeys and brick-built with a plain tile roof. The main façade on the west side is nine bays wide arranged symmetrically around a central doorway. The pale red brick façade is divided by projecting brick pilaster
In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...
s of darker red rubbed bricks into three equal sized sections. The first floor has nine sash windows of twelve panes with curved tops - three in each section. the ground floor window arrangement repeats that of the first floor except that the central doorway replaces the central window. The windows on both floors are framed in dark red rubbed bricks with the central voussoir
A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.
Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...
brick enlarged to appear as a keystone. Recessed panels of brickwork are placed beneath the windows on each floor. The dark red brick detailing continues up the façade past the cornice into the brick parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...
. The central doorway is a pair of doors in a later 18th century porch
A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...
with a modillioned
This page is a glossary of architecture.
A
B
C
The Caryatid Porch of the Erech ...
open pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedim ...
. The doors are larger than the opening with the upper panels concealed behind a lowered lintel.ragstone
Rag-stone is a name given by some architectural writers to work done with stones that are quarried in thin pieces, such as Horsham Stone, sandstone, Yorkshire stone, and the slate stones, but this is more properly flag or slab work. Near London ...
plinth
A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...
. The south façade has a brick plinth and the windows here are less regular with blocked windows on the west side at both levels and smaller six pane windows. A projecting bay fills the centre of the façade. The rear façade is divided by a central wing projecting eastwards which turns to the south to form the north and east sides of a courtyard. The rear of the main block has a cornice and two six pane windows. The central wing and its returns have six pane windows on the south side and twelve pane windows on the north side.[
Internally, the house has a two-storey timber panelled entrance hall with a ]balustraded
A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
timber gallery along the wall opposite the door supported by a large fluted Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
column. Steps lead up from each end of the gallery to the first floor. The gallery bridges the main stairs which extends into the central wing. Rooms on the ground floor and first floor off of the hallway feature 17th and 18th century panelling. A room to the rear of the ground floor has 18th century library shelving.[
The house is a Grade I ]listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.[ A separate 18th century red and grey brick house in the garden that was formerly the coach house is listed Grade II as is the wall around the grounds.]
See also
*Grade I listed buildings in Maidstone
There are 42 Grade I listed buildings in Maidstone. The Borough of Maidstone is a local government district in the English county of Kent. The district covers a largely rural area of between the North Downs and the Weald with the town ...
References
External links
National_Monument_Record:ViewFinder,_English_Heritage
,_Images_of_West_Farleigh_Hall_from_1920-30s.html" ;"title="English Heritage">National Monument Record:ViewFinder, English_Heritage">National_Monument_Record:ViewFinder,_English_Heritage
,_Images_of_West_Farleigh_Hall_from_1920-30sbr>The_Weald_of_Kent_Surrey_&_Sussex
_Images_of_West_Farleigh_Hall_from_{{cite_web_.html" ;"title="English Heritage
, Images of West Farleigh Hall from 1920-30s">English Heritage">National Monument Record:ViewFinder, English Heritage
, Images of West Farleigh Hall from 1920-30sbr>The Weald of Kent Surrey & Sussex
Images of West Farleigh Hall from {{cite web ">last=Oswald , first=Arthur , url=http://www.sussexweald.org/B10.asp?BookId=kenth685 , title=Country Houses of Kent , pages=62–3 , year=1933 , publisher= Country Life Limited
Borough of Maidstone
Grade I listed houses in Kent
Grade II listed buildings in Kent
Houses in Kent
Houses completed in 1719
Grade II listed houses