Nettlestead Place

Nettlestead Place is a country house of mixed medieval and later dates, located on the east side of Maidstone Road. It was constructed in three principal phases: circa 1250–1260, circa 1438 or slightly earlier, and circa 1589, with substantial restoration and additions of 1921–1922 by architect Morley Horder. From the 18th century until around 1921, it was used as an oast house before its conversion back to residential use.

The building displays roughly coursed galleted ragstone to the ground floor of the main range and the lower section of the first floor, with more random and less galleted ragstone to the remainder of the first floor. The 15th-century right (east) addition is built of roughly coursed, comparatively rubbly ragstone, while the 1920 section employs small blocks of roughly coursed ragstone. The roofs are plain tile.

The ground floor of the main range comprises a mid-13th-century undercroft of four double bays, with a low doorway at the north end of the east gable end. The first floor of the main range was rebuilt or extensively modified around 1438, and was possibly divided into two rooms. A shorter, narrower two-storey section was built or rebuilt at the east end, with its south elevation aligned with that of the main range and its north elevation (or the west end of it) probably abutting a non-existent turret or wing running north from the angle with the main range. A 1922 stair turret now occupies this position. The 1922 additions comprise a two-storey addition to the east end of the narrow 15th-century section, set back from the south elevation; a wing running north from it; and a passage and two-storey porch along the north elevation of the main range.

The south elevation is two storeys in height. The main range has a high hollow-chamfered plinth, while the eaves of the 15th-century addition reach the same height as the main range, though its ridge was formerly lower and has been made continuous with the main range in 1922. Stone-coped gables terminate each end of the whole range. There is a 1920s red and grey brick stack with two diagonally set flues to the rear of the west end of the main range, and another projecting stack with three flues to the east gable end of the 15th-century addition.

The first floor fenestration is irregular, comprising five tall 15th-century two-light windows with cinquefoil-headed lights and moulded architraves, mullions, and hoodmoulds. One has a squared head towards the west end of the main range, two with cambered heads are adjacent to each other at the east end of the main range, another with a cambered head is at the west end of the 15th-century addition, and one with a squared head is at the east end of that addition. Three small plain-chamfered rectangular windows light the undercroft. A narrow uncusped three-centred-arched single-light window with moulded architrave and squared moulded hoodmould is positioned towards the west end of the 15th-century addition on the ground floor, with a further similar window virtually underneath the first-floor window towards the east end.

A four-centred-arched hollow-chamfered doorway with broach stops, moulded outer architrave, squared moulded hoodmould, and shields dated "AD 1589" to the spandrels, is situated at the west end of the 15th-century addition. Three rectangular two-storey projections, probably garderobes of the late 16th century or earlier (though that to the addition may be of a slightly different date from the other two), are positioned at the centre and east end of the main range, and towards the centre of the 15th-century addition. All formerly had lean-to roofs but now have plain stone-coped parapets. Those to the main range have stonework similar to that of the main wall and continuous hollow-chamfered plinths. The projection to the 15th-century addition has similar stonework to the addition, a low hollow-chamfered plinth, long irregular quoins, and an offset between ground and first floors. None appears to have a drainage arch. Each projection has a small moulded stone window towards its top: that at the centre of the main range is oval, while the other two are circular. The projection to the east end of the main range also has a rectangular slit light towards the top of its east return. Two buttresses are positioned towards the west end of the main range, one with a hollow-chamfered plinth, and a battered buttress is present at the south-east corner.

The west gable end was rebuilt in 1922. The 1922 addition is two storeys with lower eaves and ridge than the 15th-century section, its roof gabled to the east. Two small gabled dormers are present. Two leaded first-floor windows, one single-light and one four-light, pierce the elevation. The long east return elevation has a gabled bay towards each end, two stacks, and mullioned windows.

The north-west courtyard elevation features a gabled bay, stair-turret and two-storey porch, small gabled dormers, stone mullioned windows, and a moulded four-centred-arched stone doorway.

The interior of the undercroft features quadripartite vaulting with plain-chamfered ribs springing from low central columns with moulded capitals and bases, and from moulded wall corbels. The floor is laid in stone flags. Rectangular windows to the north side now give on to the 1922 corridor. A broad pointed-arched hollow-chamfered stone doorway with broach stops—probably a 1922 insertion—is located in the second bay from the west, opposite the 1922 porch. A low late-13th-century doorway towards the north end of the east gable end features a cambered rere-arch to the undercroft side and a pointed hollow-chamfered archway with broach stops to the present staircase-hall side. A doorway, probably 15th-century, with a more rounded rere-arch to the undercroft is positioned towards the south end of the same wall, giving access to a 15th-century ground-floor room. This room has three broad cross beams to the ceiling, equally broad tenoned axial beams, and broad close-set joists, all with flush surfaces. The south-east window has a splayed and chamfered architrave. A 15th-century doorway at the west end of the north wall has a cambered chamfered rere-arch to the room, a moulded pointed arch and hoodmould to the present staircase-hall side, and a ribbed door. A similar doorway immediately above it in the same wall on the first floor exists alongside it.

The first-floor level of the 15th-century addition is several steps lower than that of the main range. Cavetto-moulded inner architraves are present to all first-floor windows except the south-west, and all have shutter rebates. The 1922 staircase hall is separated from the corridor on the north side by a pair of 20th-century pointed-arched doubly hollow-chamfered doorways with broach stops, aligned with the north wall of the undercroft. Immediately east of them is an open-well staircase with turned balusters and newels rising to the north. Two doubly hollow-chamfered 20th-century segmental stone arches, dying into the walls, span the hall at the foot of the stairs. The roof was not inspected.

Pre-1922 exterior photographs are held in the National Monuments Record.