Chesworth House

Chesworth House is a remnant of a grand mansion that later served as a farmhouse. The building comprises four main ranges constructed over several centuries: a late 15th-century north-east range, a south-east range probably built between 1514 and 1524, a 17th-century south-west wing, and a late 17th or early 18th-century north-west wing, with 1930s additions to the south-west and north. A single-storey link block attached to the north-east is not of special interest.

Materials and Construction

The late 15th-century north-east range is timber-framed, now partly clad in brickwork on the ground floor of the south-east side and tile-hung above. The south-east wing is built of red brick in English bond with some darker brick diaper work. The remainder of the house uses random stone rubble with some galleting. The entire building is roofed in Horsham stone slabs, with two 17th-century brick chimneystacks and one early 20th-century external brick and stone chimneystack. Most windows, except those in the south-east wing, had been removed by approximately December 2008.

Plan

The late 15th-century north-east range consists of three bays but originally probably extended two bays further north. The early 16th-century south-east range was added adjoining to the south. Subsequently, a 17th-century two-bay south-west extension was added abutting the east bay of the north-east range and part of the south-east range, followed by a late 17th or early 18th-century three-bay north-west wing. In the 1930s a further bay was added to the north-east, a section added to the south-west, and a porch added to the north.

Exterior

The most visible early fabric belongs to the south-east range, built of fine quality brickwork. The south gable end features two octagonal end buttresses with decorative recessed niches at the tops and an original first-floor three-light window with ovolo brick mullions and a surround rendered to resemble stone. In the gable above, darker-coloured headers form a simple diaper pattern. The east side has two projecting two-storey canted bays with large blocked four-centred arched windows with hoodmoulds on the first floor, the northern one with a much-worn tablet above. Between these bays is a two-centred arched window, possibly originally serving a staircase, and the ground floor between the canted bays has a former doorcase with brick hood moulding, later adapted as a window. The west side has an external brick chimneystack, and the northern part of this wall, following construction of the later south-western wing, is now internal. The north side, also of brick, abuts the earlier north-east wing and was always internal.

The north-east wing retains some early brickwork on the ground floor, but the first floor is clad in tile-hanging and has three window openings. The 17th-century west wing is of stone rubble with a large gable and French windows on the ground floor. Attached to the south end is an early 20th-century external brick and stone chimneystack. The north side has a late 17th or early 18th-century gable at the centre. To the east is a gabled 20th-century section abutting the timber-framed wing, and to the west a penticed 20th-century porch in stone rubble with brick quoins. The main entrance is now through an early 20th-century studded plank door with ironwork hinges in the porch.

Interior

Late 15th-Century North-East Wing

The late 15th-century north-east wing now consists of three bays, but the north-east wallplate has been sawn through and, from carpenters' marks in the collars, it appears this range originally extended two further bays to the north. The south end wall has close-studding and end tension braces and had been an external wall before the south-east wing was built. The southern part of the west wall survives, and all the jowled bay posts except the north-western one are visible with a pattern of curved windbraces. The roof structure, of through side purlins with curved wind-bracing and sturdy queen struts, survives intact. At the north end is the pegged trimmer for an original stair and notches for original partitioning around it. The large brick chimneystack was inserted against the tie beam between the south and central bays in the 17th century, and there is a wattle partition here and taper burns on the collars.

On the upper floor of the southern bay is a 1930s brick and tile fireplace, but on the floor below there is a 17th-century brick fireplace. The staircase within the west side of the central bay has reused late 16th-century pyramid-type finials on the newel posts, reused handrails and thin "chinoiserie" type panels as balustrading, but was assembled in the late 19th or more probably early 20th century. The surrounding partitioning between the south and central bays and between the central and north bays appears of 17th or 18th-century date. Wide floorboards survive on the first floor.

Early 16th-Century South-East Range

The early 16th-century south-east range has a four-bay roof with staggered purlins of late 17th or early 18th-century date. It includes some reused timber including a length with quarter-round moulding. There was originally a large first-floor room of high status with a floor at the level of a wooden door in the north wall leading into the earlier north-east range, but the floor was not present at the time of inspection. A blocked four-centred arched brick fireplace to this upper room is on the west wall with a higher blocked arched window with three pointed arches retaining iron stanchions and a smaller arched window. On the ground floor of this wall is a small arched window with brick surround, but the fireplace was altered in the 20th century. The eastern wall retains a number of arched window openings to the former ground and first-floor windows (some blocked), and the south wall has a first-floor window with ovolo-moulded mullions.

17th-Century Two-Bay Range

The 17th-century two-bay range to the west has a large ground-floor room with a large inglenook hearth with a slightly cranked bressumer with taper burns and evidence of a spit-jack fixing. The hearth has been infilled with an early 20th-century Arts and Crafts style fireplace, and there is oak panelling of this date with top mutule frieze. The ceiling has cross beams with quarter-round moulded chamfers and stops and undecorated joists. A ground-floor room to the south-west has a 1930s fireplace with wooden bressumer, built-in side wooden bookshelves with round-headed tile-on-edge arch and herringbone bricks, and an oak wall cupboard with butterfly hinges. This wing has a queen strut roof.

North-West Wing

The north-west wing has a pegged roof of three bays of thin scantling with queen struts and diagonal tension braces of late 17th or early 18th-century date. Two tie beams have been replaced with steel joists. A four-centred arched brick opening survives on the ground floor of the west wall. The ground floor has an introduced reused oak frame. Solid tread stairs between the first floor and attic were no longer present in December 2008.

History

The manor of Chesworth belonged by 1281 to the Braose family and later was held by the Mowbray and the Howard (later Fitzalan-Howard) families, including the Dukes of Norfolk and Earls of Arundel. The early medieval manor house which existed by 1324 occupied the moated site south of the present Chesworth House and probably had a courtyard plan.

The late 15th-century north-east timber-framed range was built north of the moat possibly by the second Duke of Norfolk. The adjoining south-east brick range with a principal room on the first floor may be the range called "The Earl of Surrey's tower". As this title was used by the heir to the Duke of Norfolk, it is likely to have been built by the third Duke when heir to the title after 1514. It has similarities with Kenninghall in Norfolk (also Grade II*) which he built after 1524. After the death of Thomas Howard, the second Duke, in 1524, the manor of Chesworth was held in dower by his widow Agnes. His son, Thomas the third Duke, had his niece, Catherine Howard, moved to Chesworth under the care of the Dowager Duchess. Chesworth was the scene of her relationship with a kinsman, Francis Dereham, and events with her music teacher, Henry Manox, before she was sent to Henry VIII's court. Events at Chesworth later formed a substantial part of the charges against her at her trial which led to her execution on 13 February 1541. In 1549 the house included a hall, great chamber, dining chamber, a chapel and at least 20 other rooms and service buildings.

In 1572 the fourth Duke of Norfolk was executed for plotting with Mary Queen of Scots, the manor reverted to the Crown and was occupied by various tenants including the Bishop of Chichester (1577-82) and the Caryll family (circa 1586-1660). In 1660-61 the manor was settled on Queen Henrietta Maria and by 1674 on Queen Catherine of Braganza, who still held it in 1699.

From that date until the early 20th century Chesworth House was a farmhouse. The present west ranges built of stone were added in the 17th and early 18th centuries. According to an inventory of 1780 there were two principal rooms and a kitchen on the ground floor and six first-floor rooms, with a passage. There were two hearths on the ground floor in the two parlours, with a large cooking hearth in the kitchen, and two on the first floor. The early 16th-century brick range was used as a house in 1836 and as a washhouse, storehouse and dairy in 1868. The 17th-century west range was extended to the north and south during the 19th century. The 1876 and 1911 Ordnance Survey maps show Chesworth House at almost its current extent.

In 1928 the house was bought by a Captain Cook who enlarged it on the north side, restored it to his own designs and inserted old fittings from other houses. He also laid out extensive gardens and built a new entrance drive from the west, away from farm buildings on the north side (some of which burnt down in 1989). The 1932 Ordnance Survey map shows the addition of an extension at the north-east end and a porch to the north-west which complete the present footprint of the building. Some repairs were carried out to the building in the later 20th century.

Summary

Chesworth House comprises a fine quality late 15th-century timber-framed three-bay north-east wing with close-studding and butt-purlin roof with curved braces, a very high quality early 16th-century south-east brick wing with decorative features, together with 17th-century and circa 1930 additions. It has historical interest as the surviving part of a manor house owned by the Dukes of Norfolk, the childhood home of Queen Catherine Howard where events took place which ultimately led to her trial and execution, and which, reverting to the Crown after the execution of the fourth Duke for treason in 1572, was later gifted to two other queens of England, Henrietta Maria and Catherine of Braganza.