Homestall Manor
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Homestall Manor by Simon Carey as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Image: © Simon Carey Taken: 7 Apr 2021
The oldest part of the house dates to 1350 when it was little more than a hunting lodge owned by Edward III and used by John of Gaunt. When hunting ceased during the 15th century the lodge was expanded into a timber framed farmhouse that remained in use until 1906. In that year it was purchased by the Dewar family, famous for their distilleries. The current house was formed in 1933 by an amalgamation of the farmhouse, which now forms the east wing, and Dutton Hall, also a timber framed 16th building, that was originally located in Cheshire, and demolished brick by brick and rebuilt as the east wing which is the part visible in the image. During the Second World War, the Dewar family allowed the house to be used by convalescing pilots particularly those who were known as the 'guinea pigs', the patients of pioneering surgical reconstruction, of nearby East Grinstead's Queen Victoria Hospital. After the war the house returned to residential use until the Dewars sold up in 1955 to the Brunswick School of Brighton - Winston Churchill's junior school. The private education facility opened in 1958 and operated until its closure in 2009 due to lack of numbers with the house and its grounds sold in 2011 reverting to residential use. In November 2020 a planning application was submitted to convert the house into a 5 star hotel.