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OTTERDEN MANOR
and OTTERDEN PLACE
With the
Norman Conquest, Otterden Manor formed part of the estates
owned by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, the half brother of William
the Conqueror, who fought with William at Hastings.
Upon
the disgrace of Odo of Bayeux, the property was confiscated
by the crown and the manor fell into the hands of a family
which assumed its name.
History
records a number of other owners:
- Ralph de Ottringden
in the reign of Henry III (1216-1272)
- his grandson, Sir
Laurence, during the time of Edward II (1307-1327);
- Sir Laurence's
only daughter and heir, who conveyed it in marriage
to the Peyforers family;
- a family called
Potyn (who acquired it from the Peyforers) and one of
whom, Nicholas, owned during the reign of Richard II
(1377-1399);
- Nicholas Potyn's
only daughter, Juliana, who married Thomas Leger, second
son of Sir Ralph of Ulcomb. Leger lived at Otterden
where he was sheriff. He died in 1410 and was buried
in Otterden Church near the high altar.
It was in the grounds of Otterden
Place that Dr
Stephen Gray and the Reverend Granville
Wheler are said to have carried out very early experiments
on electricity around 1729. They successfully fed electrical
current from a rubbed glass a distance of just over 860
feet along a string supported on silk threads.
Today's
Otterden Place is a brick Tudor manor house, largely rebuilt
in the 18th century. The present Church of St Lawrence,
in the grounds of Otterden Place, dates from 1753.
Following the death of its owner
Mr Granville Wheler in May 2004, the surrounding Otterden
Estate is due to form part of a new charitable trust,
the Wheler Foundation.
For
more on Otterden Manor
CLICK HERE
For
more on the Wheler Foundation
CLICK HERE
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HALL PLACE
Hall Place, in the south-east
part of Otterden parish was once a significant manor.
However, by the time
of Henry VII (1485-1509), it was no longer a manor and
had become the property of a Mr Locke who,in turn, sold
it to a John Bunce.
Bunce's eldest son, Simon,
became his heir. He died in 1611 leaving it to Anne, his
only daughter.
For more information on
Hall Place CLICK HERE
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BUNCE COURT
Originally known as "Pollards",
Bunce Court is just under a mile to the south of Otterden
Place.
In the 17th century, it was owned
by the Bunce family and so acquired the title of Bunce
Court.
Subsequent owners include London
merchant and Member of Parliament James Bunce and his
son (also James Bunce) who was a Sheriff of London under
Charles I, imprisoned in the Tower of London by Cromwell
and later rewarded for his loyalty to the crown with a
knighthood by Charles II.
Perhaps among the more interesting
owners in the recent past was Miss Anna Essinger, a pioneering
educationalist, who in 1933 fled from Hitler's Germany
and established a refuge and school at Bunce Court for
the many Jewish children sent there by their anxious German
parents.
From the 1960s, Bunce Court served
as an old people's home and, in the early 1980s, the main
house was sold and converted into four separate properties.
For
more information on Bunce Court CLICK HERE
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SNOAD FARMHOUSE
The existing farmhouse at Snoad
Farm is believed to date from the 16th century. It features
several old wall paintings, two being Coats of Arms for
the Royal Stuarts. Some experts consider these may indicate
that the property once served as a Royalist 'safe house'.
Snoad
Farm's name is thought to be an ancient reference to a
property or place on the edge of a large land holding
or manor. Other definitions suggest it is derived from
the Old English "snad", a detached piece of
land.
For
more information on Snoad Farm
CLICK HERE
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