Draft:Evington Court
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| Evington Court | |
|---|---|
Alternative names | Evington House; Evington Court |
General information | |
| Status | Demolished |
| Type | Country house |
| Location | Evington, Elmsted, Kent, England, England |
| Demolished | 20th century |
| Design and construction | |
| Known for | Historic seat of the Evington, Gay and Honywood families |
Evington Court was a historic country house and landed estate at Evington in the parish of Elmsted, Kent, England. The estate has medieval origins and was successively associated with the Evington, Gay and Honywood families.
The estate was historically known as the Yoke of Evington. Edward Hasted, writing in the late 18th century, described Evington Court as lying in the south-western part of Elmsted, in a low-lying position below the surrounding downland.[1]
The principal house was enlarged and improved during its history and became the centre of an extensive agricultural estate. The mansion was subsequently demolished, although elements of the former estate and associated buildings survive.
History
[edit]The Evington family
[edit]The origins of Evington Court lie in the medieval Evington family.
Thomas Philipott, writing in the 17th century in Villare Cantianum, described Evington Court as an ancient seat of the Evington family. He recorded Robert de Evington as an ancestor of the Evingtons of Elmsted and referred to members of the family in deeds dating from the reigns of Henry III and Edward I.[2]
Hasted similarly described the Evingtons as the ancient family of the estate and referred to evidence contained in old deeds. He stated that material concerning the family's history had been copied from earlier documents by William Glover, Somerset Herald.[1]
The Evington family arms were recorded as a fess between three steel burgonets, or steel caps. Philipott described the arms in his account of Evington Court.[2]
The heraldic description is:
- Argent, a fess between three burganets, or steel caps, azure.
The burganet was a form of steel helmet or cap used in heraldic terminology.
The Gay family
[edit]After the Evington family ceased to hold the estate, Evington Court passed to the Gay family.
Hasted recorded that the Gay family substantially enlarged and improved the house. He described additional buildings and decorative work at the property, including the use of nosegays as a play on the family name.[1]
The Gay family arms were recorded by Hasted as:
- Gules, three lions rampant argent, an orle of cross-croslets fitchee or.[1]
The Gay ownership continued until the beginning of the reign of Henry VII.
Christopher Gay
[edit]Christopher Gay, who died in 1507, was associated with Evington Court.
His will recorded his wish to be buried at St James the Great in Elmsted. A surviving portion of his monumental brass and other memorial material remains in the church.[3]
The church's south chapel contains a memorial associated with Christopher Gay and his two wives, Agnes and Joan.[3]
Honywood ownership
[edit]According to Hasted, Humphry Gay conveyed Evington Court to John Honywood during the reign of Henry VII.[1]
The acquisition established the long association between Evington Court and the Honywood family, one of the prominent landed families of Kent.
The Honywood family had other substantial Kentish connections, including estates in the surrounding area. The Evington branch remained associated with the property for several centuries.[1]
The Honywood arms associated with the Evington branch were:
- Argent, a chevron between three hawks' heads erased azure.[4]
These arms are distinct from the earlier Evington family arms.
The house
[edit]Evington Court stood in the lower ground of the parish, below the surrounding downland.
Hasted described the location as comparatively low and noted that Sir John Honywood had added substantially to the property and laid out parkland around the house.[1]
The estate landscape included Evington Lees, agricultural land, woodland and numerous farms and cottages.
A later local historical account describes the principal mansion as a substantial three-storey house containing approximately 50 rooms. It stood within parkland and was accompanied by extensive gardens and estate buildings.[5]
The same account records that photographs of the house existed and describes its appearance and later remains.[6]
Evington Park and estate
[edit]Evington Court was the centre of a substantial landed estate.
The estate included the principal house, parkland, agricultural land, farms, cottages, lodges and other buildings. By the early 20th century the estate extended across several surrounding parishes.
The scale of the estate is particularly well documented by the 1916 sale particulars preserved by Historic England. The archive identifies Evington Court together with the entrance lodge, gardener's cottage, keeper's cottage, stables and Evington Shooting Lodge.[7]
The 1916 estate material also records numerous farms and agricultural properties, including:
- Bavinge Farm
- Beech Tree Farm
- Bodsham Farm
- Dean Farm
- Elmsted Court Lodge Farm
- Great Dowles Farm
- Great Holt Farm
- Ittinge Farm
- Little Holt Farm
- Little Pett Bottom Farm
- Little Sheepcourt Farm
- Lower Hill Street Farm
- Maxted Street Farm
- Mill House Farm
- Pett Bottom Farm
- Spong Farm
- Upper Hill Street Farm
- Upper Little Holt Farm
- Upper Maxted Street Farm
- Walnut Tree Farm
- Whiteacre Farm
The same archive records the Evington Shooting Lodge, entrance lodge, gardener's cottage, keeper's cottage, stables and kennels.[7]
The properties demonstrate the extent to which Evington Court functioned as the centre of a large agricultural estate rather than simply as a private residence.
The 1916 estate sale
[edit]The Evington Estate was offered for sale in 1916.
The sale particulars covered properties in a number of surrounding parishes, including Elmsted, Bodsham, Waltham, Crundale, Wye, Petham and Hastingleigh.[7]
The Historic England archive identifies the sale particulars as dated 1 July 1916 and preserves the names and locations of the individual properties forming part of the estate.[7]
Local historical records also preserve information relating to the 1916 Evington Estate auction and records of estate properties and occupiers from earlier periods.[8]
The sale represented a major change in the history of the estate after several centuries of association with the Honywood family.
Demolition and surviving remains
[edit]The principal Evington Court mansion was subsequently demolished during the 20th century.
Local historical research records surviving foundations, cellars and fragments associated with the former house. Two cottages associated with the former park are also recorded as surviving.[9]
The surviving estate buildings and landscape provide evidence of the former scale and organisation of Evington Court.
A local historical account also records a gatehouse associated with the former estate and describes a Honywood crest above the entrance. The crest is described as a wolf's head.[10]
Heraldry
[edit]Three different coats of arms are associated with the principal families historically connected with Evington Court.
Evington family
[edit]The medieval Evington family bore:
- Argent, a fess between three burganets, or steel caps, azure.
This coat is specifically associated with the Evington family of Evington Court in the accounts of Philipott and Hasted.[2][1]
No authenticated surviving painted or manuscript depiction of the Evington achievement has been identified in the readily accessible online sources.
Gay family
[edit]The Gay family of Evington bore:
- Gules, three lions rampant argent, an orle of cross-croslets fitchee or.
The arms are recorded by Hasted in his account of the family and Evington Court.[1]
Honywood family
[edit]The Honywoods associated with Evington bore:
- Argent, a chevron between three hawks' heads erased azure.
The arms are described and illustrated in 19th-century heraldic material concerning Honywood of Evington.[11]
The Evington, Gay and Honywood coats should not be conflated. The three burganets belong to the earlier Evington family, while the hawks' heads belong to the later Honywood family.
St James the Great, Elmsted
[edit]The parish church of St James the Great is closely associated with the families who held Evington Court.
The church is a Grade I listed building. Historic England dates its principal fabric to the late 11th or 12th century, with substantial additions during the 13th and 14th centuries. It was restored in 1877.[12]
The church contains a number of monuments to members of the Honywood family. The south chapel contains monuments to Sir William Honeywood, Thomas Honeywood and Mary Honeywood, while other memorials commemorate members of the family elsewhere in the church.[3]
Christopher Gay's memorial and surviving brass provide a direct connection with the family that held Evington Court before the Honywoods.[3]
Modern manorial title
[edit]In August 2023, Arron Martin became the holder of the manorial title described as the Lord of the Manor of Evington Court.[13]
The manorial title is distinct from ownership of the physical property at Evington Court.
Images and archival material
[edit]Historic England holds the 1916 Evington Estate sale particulars as archive volume SC00537. The archive records Evington Court and the numerous buildings and agricultural properties forming part of the estate.[7]
At present, the Historic England archive page notes that its images are temporarily unavailable through the website.[7]
A local historical account records that photographs of the former Evington Court mansion existed and describes the appearance of the demolished house and its surviving remains.[14]
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The church provides one of the principal surviving physical connections between the historic Evington estate and the families associated with it.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Hasted, Edward (1799). The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent (PDF). Vol. 8. W. Bristow. pp. 34–36. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 Philipott, Thomas (1659). Villare Cantianum: or, Kent Surveyed and Illustrated (PDF). William Godbid. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "St James the Apostle Church, Elmsted". Kent History & Archaeology. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ Shirley, Evelyn Philip (1866). The Noble and Gentle Men of England. Harrison. pp. 103–104. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ "Hastingleigh 1000–2000" (PDF). Hastingleigh. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ "Hastingleigh 1000–2000" (PDF). Hastingleigh. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Evington Estate, Kent". Historic England. 1 July 1916. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ "Elmsted Records Index". Hastingleigh. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ "Hastingleigh 1000–2000" (PDF). Hastingleigh. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ "Hastingleigh 1000–2000" (PDF). Hastingleigh. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ Shirley, Evelyn Philip (1866). The Noble and Gentle Men of England. Harrison. pp. 103–104. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ "Church of St James, Elmsted". Historic England. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ "Legal Notices". Official Manorial Title Register. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ "Hastingleigh 1000–2000" (PDF). Hastingleigh. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
External links
[edit]- Historic England: The Evington Estate, Kent, 1916
- Edward Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, volume 8
- Thomas Philipott, Villare Cantianum, 1659
- Hastingleigh 1000–2000
- Elmsted historical records index
- Kent History & Archaeology: St James the Apostle Church, Elmsted
- St James the Great, Elmsted — Wikimedia Commons
Category:Country houses in Kent Category:Former buildings and structures in Kent Category:History of Kent Category:Folkestone and Hythe District
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