Two Views of Ightham Mote

Ightham Mote medieval manor began its life as a moated, fortified manor house, in about 1320. Starting out as a great hall and two rooms known as solars, it was added to over the years. Its stone tower and gatehouse (bottom) date from the mid 15th century. So do many of its mullioned windows. Its courtyard was enclosed in the 16th and 17th centuries.

For most of its 690 years, Ightham Mote was owned and occupied by two families. The Hautes for about two hundred years and the Selbys for more than 300 years. As aristocratic families go, neither the Hautes nor the Selbys were particularly wealthy. That is why the house remains as a living museum of architecture.

If the families had been richer, they would have torn all or parts of the house down and replaced them. Instead they simply added and repaired, higgledy piggledy, leaving a record of hundreds of years of building techniques.

During the restoration, which took 15 years, the National Trust employed construction methods that had not been used for centuries. An exhibition on the estate reveals some of the more interesting construction features.

See Last Page for Essential Ightham Mote Visitor Information