The Grange

The Grange is a house located on Canon's Hill in Coulsdon. It was used as a control centre for Kenley airfield during the Second World War.

The building comprises a central part dating to the 16th century, with early 18th-century additions to the front and rear. The front range was remodelled in the early 19th century. Extensive 20th-century refenestration has occurred throughout. The exterior is rendered over brickwork to the front, with timber framing to the central part and brick and stone rubble to the rear. The roof is slate with five rendered chimneysstacks. The building is two storeys with attics and a basement, featuring an irregular fenestration scheme. The plan is diffuse, with two ranges to the front and an L-shaped wing to the rear.

The west or front elevation was remodelled in the early 19th century with stucco featuring incised lines to imitate masonry. It is two storeys with three windows. The first floor has a central casement flanked by tripartite casements. The ground floor features large segmental bays with central French windows, flanked by a wide gable to the front, a smaller gable to the centre, and a section with hipped roof to the rear. The east elevation displays an 18th-century doorcase with a flat hood on console brackets and a six-panelled door, along with a mixture of sashes and casements. The south elevation has a mixture of 20th-century casements and sashes, and a French window to the front range. The return of the rear range has an external chimneystack. Irregular fenestration across the building includes two 12-pane sashes, two 16-pane sashes, and later casements.

Internally, the central part incorporates two bays of a 16th-century timber-framed house. The first floor wall features a curved brace and a mullioned window is visible; a blocked window exists on the other side. The front range dates to the 18th century and retains a cambered fireplace with keystone in the front left room, with internal partitions of brick and thin timber-framing. The range was refurbished in the early 19th century with a hall featuring wooden panels, moulded architraves with six-panelled doors, a large alcove and two round-headed niches in the front left room, a stick staircase with mahogany handrail, a large column to the first floor corridor, and a bedroom with a marble fireplace decorated with paterae and pilasters. The attics were boarded over in the 20th century, though lath and plaster remains visible. The rear range contains a large room with two chamfered beams and an open fireplace with shelf, with a six-panelled door leading to a staircase featuring a straight flight to the first floor and a half-winder to the attic.

In the Middle Ages, a monastic grange located to the rear of the present property was occupied by the Abbot's bailiff. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the property passed to Sir Nicholas Carewe. The rear part of the present building is thought to have been added in 1625, with the front added around 1720. In 1850 it was renamed The Grange. In 1940 the building became the control centre for Kenley Airport, playing an important role in front-line operations in Northern Europe during the Battle of Britain. A first floor ceiling was removed to create a perimeter gallery where the Controller and his staff could view a map of South East England on the Operations table below. An advance in radio communications was undertaken here at the end of 1940 with the installation of a Very High Frequency System, which improved reception. Visitors during this period included Winston Churchill, Australian statesman Robert Menzies, Lord Nuffield, and King George VI.