Description

ROCHESTER BOLEY HILL
TQ 7468 SW AND TQ 7468 NW
7,9/7 Old Hall and Old
Vicarage
24.10.50
GV II*
House (of which Milton Cottage once formed a part, qv Ref 9/6).
Late C13 vaulted undercroft; early C16 hall range, built for the
Skipwell family, modernised and re-floored in the late C16 by
Richard Watts; early C17, mid C18 and later extensions; resotred
in late 1940s after bomb damage. Rubble ragstone and limestone
dressings, but predominantly timber framed with brick stacks and
infill; Kent tiled roofs. Hall range runs E-W, parallel to
street, with main entrance to left within a shallow cross wing
which is itself partly obscured by a late C17 or C18 wing that
comes forward to street level, re-fronted in brick in the late
C18, and which stands over the undercroft. Later C16 cross wing
to right which was further extented to the W by a series of
gabled bays facing Satis House. Exterior. Front: shallow cross-
wing with jettied attic and gabled oriel on scrolled brackets,
2:5:2 lights with transom, ovolo mouldings; 2 smaller gabled bays
to right, the gable walls with exposed framing. Where visible,
the framing is of close studding with rails and occasional
straight angle braces. 4 1st floor 12-pane sash windows in
exposed frames. Doorway, early C19 with classical surround and
panelled door. To right, a later C19 single-storeyed extension
(occupying the 2 right-hand bays) with tripartite 10:15:10-pane
sash windows. Low, 2-storeyed wing (over undercroft), tile-hung
to right side, rendered to left with large external lateral stack
with set-offs, the front a regular Georgian 3-window range with
12-pane sash windows in reveals under flat rubbed brick arches;
fielded panel door to right under rectangular overlight. Right
return of main house, gabled, rendered, with a little framing
revealed. 1st floor sases as to front. Rear: irregular.
Crosswing similar to front, the oriel without a gable, jettied,
timber framing exposed, with replica C16 windows to lower floors.
rear wing with much original framing visible, windows largely
renewed. Interior: the house possesses a remarkable collection
of late C16 and early C17 painted wall panelling for which see
Oswald (1953). Hall, ground floor with ovolo moulded ceiling
beams and plain joists, one panelled door with fleur-de-lis strap
hinges. Re-used wooden lintel for fireplace bressumer. 1st
floor (above hall, called the solar by Oswald), stone fireplace
with initials A and H in spandrels, small panelling throughout
(5 tiers, grained oak, painted (not stencilled) designs, hearts
to centre, with lozenges at junction of stiles and muntins. Cyma
mouldings). Ovolo moulded ceiling beams. 2nd floor (above
hall), fireplace with high-set stops, with initial letters on
shields in spandrells (W to right only decipherable); some
plaster panels of the exposed side wall, 'antiqued' line drawings
of the early C17. The W wing contains an open stair with turned
balusters on rising rail; to the rear, the so-called 'Justice
Room', fully panelled, the decoration similar to that of the
'solar', with integral paintings (over the stone fireplace) of
figures representing Prudence and Justice. Another room contains
panelling from Langley House (Ref 7/10). Numerous other C16 and
C17 features throughout house. Vaulted undercroft - one of a
very small number known to survive in Rochester - with
quadrapartite vault, chamfered ribs, plain springers. Reference:
Arthur Oswald, 'The Old Hall, Rochester, Kent', Country Life
6/3/1953, 654-8.

Listing NGR: TQ7410868495

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17551341

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)