Bedgebury Manor, now a school (photo from school
web site, Oct 1999)
History
In 1425, Walter Culpeper7 of Goudhurst married Agnes Roper, the
young and childless widow of John Bedgebury. (John is recorded as being
at the battle of Agincourt where he "took five archers into the
field") Through the marriage, the
estate of Bedgebury came into the Culpeper family where it remained for
about 250 years.
Alexander11 entertained Queen
Elizabeth at Bedgebury in 1573 and was knighted. Elizabeth
wrote, "Friday, August 7th, went to Mr
Culpeper at Bedgebury to supper, stayed the night, dined the
following day, knighted Mr Culpeper at Rye on
Wednesday 11th." Sir Alexander presented Queen
Elizabeth with "an elegant silver cup with cover, on the
lip of which was a tuft of flowers." Sir Alexander
encouraged iron foundries ("Furnaces and Forge Farms") on his estate
and cast guns for the fleet which defeated the Spanish Armada
Bedgebury passed from Sir Alexander Culpeper13
(1581-1639) to his brother, William13, a Royalist,
"greatly impoverished by the war." William's son, Thomas14
succeeded to Bedgebury, sold the estate to Sir Thomas Hayes
in 1660, and ended his life
on 19 Feb 1675 in Fleet, a debtor's prison.
The ancient moated house
was swept away and its site covered by one of the four lakes
now present. The present mansion was built towards the close of
the seventeenth century by Sir James Hayes.
It is a square pile of red brick, faced with sandstone, and
increased in size and imposing adornment by successive owners. Wings
were added by Field-Marshall Lord Beresford,
who purchased the estate in 1836; and his Lordship's heir, the Rt.
Hon A. J. B.
Beresford-Hope, recast it in the French taste
of the Louis XIV period, with a Mansard roof and a lofty clock tower.
The interior was rich in ornamented ceiling,
paintings, carvings and other objects of
exquisite art. (Source:
W. T.
Simmons' Cranbrook Almanac, 1910)
Today Bedgebury Manor is used for the facilities of
Bell Bedgebury International
School, a boarding school for international students, and the vast lands
have been reduced to 220 acres surrounding the school. It
is about a mile and a half deeper into the weald to the south of Goudhurst and may be seen from the high St. Mary’s Church yard or the
upper rear windows of the Star & Eagle hotel which is by the church.
Dates, Ownership (Monarch)
 | 815-1425: The Bedgebury Family |
| 1425-1462: Walter Culpeper7 *
(Edward IV) |
| 1462-1480: Sir John Culpeper8 *
(Edward IV) |
| 1480-1541: Sir Alexander Culpeper9
(Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III, Henry VII, Henry VIII) |
| 1541-1558: Sir Thomas Culpeper10
(Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary) |
| 1558-1598: Sir Alexander Culpeper11
(Elizabeth) |
| 1598-1618: Sir Anthony Culpeper12
(Elizabeth, James I) |
| 1618-1639: Sir Alexander Culpeper13
(James I, Charles I) |
| 1639-c1659: William Culpeper13
(Charles I, Commonwealth) |
| c1659-1660: Thomas Culpeper14
(Charles II) |
| 1660-1836: The Hayes family |
| 1836-?: The Beresford family |
* Walter and Sir John, the 7th and 8th
generation of known Culpepers, are direct ancestors of the
modern-day Culpeppers. They owned Bedgebury from 1425-1480.
Their Culpepper descendants, but not direct ancestors of the
modern-day branch, continued to hold Bedgebury for another two
centuries. Bedgebury Manor (Bell Bedgebury School) Location
2 miles S of Goudhurst, on east side of the B-2079
National Grid Coordinates: TQ
721 344 Also See
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