Sevenoaks, Kent, England

Manors and Lands of the Culpepers

Brook Place at Riverhead in Sevenoaks

The ancient mansion in Riverhead at Sevenoaks called Brook Place was built by one of the family of Culpeper out of materials taken from the neighboring suppressed hospital of St. John. It after came into the possession of a younger branch of the family of Amherst. (Hasted Volume III, pages 92-93)

Culpepper Connections Note: The specific Culpeper who built the house is unknown, but he may have been of the Bedgebury line and probably built it in the 16th century.

Location: On Norman Road, 0.5 mile W of the B-2042, 3 miles SW of Riverhead
National Grid Coordinates: TQ 491 529

Photograph by Warren Culpepper, March 2000.

Britains in Sevenoaks (Including Great Britain's Wood)

In the reign of Edward VI, the house and lands of Britains in Sevenoaks were leased by the Earl of Warwick for 40 years to Sir George Harper and Thomas Culpeper^10b, Esq. (Hasted Volume III, page 90)

Sir George Harper and Thomas Culpeper, were half-brothers, the sons of Constantia Chamberlayn, who married first, Sir Alexander Culpeper^9b of Bedgebury and Hardreshull, and second, Richard Harper.

In March 2000, no home named Britains could be located by Culpepper Connections, but Great Britain's Wood is traversed by the A-21 on the south side of Sevenoaks.

Location: On the A-21, about 2 miles S of where the M-25 changes into the A-21.
National Grid Coordinates: TQ 516 542

Whitley Forest in Sevenoaks

John, duke of Northumberland, made a lease of Whitley Forest (alias Whitcliff Wood) in Sevenoaks to Sir George Harper and Thomas Culpeper^10b, Esq., who granted their interest in them to Christopher Roper. (Hasted Volume III, page 70).
    Sir George Harper and Thomas Culpeper, were half-brothers, the sons of Constantia Chamberlayn, who married first, Sir Alexander Culpeper^9b of Bedgebury and Hardreshull, and second, Richard Harper. Note, also, that Sir Alexander was the grandson of Walter Culpeper^7b and Agnes Roper, and Agnes was the daughter of Edmund Roper of St. Dunstan's Canterbury. Christopher Roper, to whom the above lands were granted, was presumably a member of this Roper family.

St. Nicholas Church

Ancient Parish
Original registers from 1559

Location: On Tonbridge Road (A-225, just south of intersection with the A-224.)
National Grid Coordinates: TQ 531 543

Sevenoaks, Kent

Location: On the A-25, just south of the M-26, 16 miles NW of Goudhurst, and 17 miles W of Maidstone.
National Grid Coordinates: TQ 530 560

With its easy rail and road access to London and its leafy atmosphere Sevenoaks has come to epitomize the essence of the commuter belt in many people's eyes. This perception is not far from the truth but far enough away to reveal a genuine community with its own sense of history and identity. The leafiness is not that of a garden city creation, designed to soften the effect of wide-scale residential and commercial development. Instead it is a testament to the wooded countryside which formed the backdrop of this settlement some nine centuries ago.

It is believed that there was a settlement on this site in ancient times but the first recorded mention came in AD 1114 when a record of local churches listed it as "Seovenaca". Local tradition has it that the name refers to a clump of seven oaks that once stood here, long gone but replaced - with much fanfare - by seven trees taken from Knole Park and ceremoniously planted on the common on the outskirts of town in 1955. These replacements gained national headline status in 1987, when they suffered badly during the Great Wind of October.

The rural feel of Sevenoaks - struggling against the odds - parallels the story of those trees. Despite the commuter tag which it must bear, Sevenoaks still has the appearance of a country market town, and it holds weekly cattle and produce markets not far from the station. A number of traditional Kentish tile-hung cottages, as well as a fine Regency pub and some grand houses, still line the main street before it assumes a more anonymous aspect.

Not far from the center of Sevenoaks, however, are further reminders of the town's heritage. The Vine cricket ground lies on a rise to the south of the town center. It was given to the town in 1773 but the first recorded match at the Vine between Kent and Sussex - took place in 1734. It witnessed a remarkable match in 1782 when the Duke of Dorset (one of the Sackvilles of Knole) and his estate workers defeated a team representing All-England. The victory was particularly sweet because the Duke's team also won a bet of a thousand guineas.

The pride of Sevenoaks, and of Kent itself for many people, is of course Knole House, the huge manor house set in extensive parkland. It is one of the largest houses in England, with 365 rooms inside its foursquare structure.

The present house stands on the site of a much smaller manor house which was bought by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1456 and used as an ecclesiastical palace until 1532 when it was taken over by Henry VIII. Elizabeth I granted it to the Sackvilles, who still live there although the house is now owned by the National Trust. Impressive in its scale, Knole House also offers visitors the chance to wander past outstanding collections of tapestries, antique furniture and an extensive art collection which has masterpiece by Gainsborough and Reynolds.

The great house is not without its sense of human involvement. The Sackvilles proved to have the flair for employing the best craftsmen to realize their creative architectural spirit. The writer Vita Sackville-West was born in Knole House in 1892; some five decades later Hitler intended to use it as his English headquarters.

Surrounding Knole House is its majestic deer park, covering some 1000 acres of rolling countryside with dense beech woodlands giving way to hidden dells.

1831 Topographical Dictionary