Ightham Mote: a brief history

The village of Ightham is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, compiled for William the Conqueror in 1086, but the origin of its name suggests that it already existed half a millennium earlier. The modern place name, Ightham, is derived from the early Anglo-Saxon 'Ehtaham'. 'Ehta' is a Jutish personal name, while 'ham' means settlement.

The parish church dates from the 12th century, but it was not until the early 1300s that Ightham Mote appears on the scene. Its earliest parts were built at around the same time that Edward II granted the request of the lord of the manor for permission to hold an annual fair in the village. That was in 1336; dendrochronology dating from timber samples taken during the renovation of the house places the first phase of its construction around 1330. This phase included the construction of the great hall, the crypt, the Old Chapel and two solars or upper chambers.

The builder of Ightham Mote is not known, but the first owner that we know about was Sir Thomas Cawne, who lived there from 1340 until his death in 1374. A number of different owners subsequently made their mark on the property as a series of additions, changes and makeovers were carried out, each reflecting the altering fashions, materials and techniques of their times.

The house's current owner, the National Trust, lists the most notable of these owners and their additions to the house as:

Edward Haut, who enclosed the courtyard and constructed the cottage range (1487-1519);

Sir Richard Clement, who embellished the house with Tudor symbols, including the Oriel room's window barge boards, the great hall's stained glass, and, in particular, the unique New Chapel ceiling (1521-1538);

Sir William and Dame Dorothy Selby, who developed the drawing room and adjacent range (1611-1641); and

Sir Thomas Colyer-Fergusson, who undertook an extensive repair programme following his purchase of the house in 1889.

Colyer-Fergusson owned the property until his death in 1951. His grandson then auctioned the contents and sold the house itself to a group of local people who had hoped to renovate and preserve it. The cost turned out to be beyond them, however, and two years later it was sold again, this time to Charles Henry Robinson, of Portland, Maine. He bequeathed it to the National Trust, who took over responsibility for the property following his death in 1985. The renovation of the house began in 1989.

The conservation project

The ghost of Ightham Mote

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