Chilworth Manor, Surrey

Chilworth Manor (2007)

Walls of Chilworth Manor garden

Chilworth Manor is a historic country house located midway between Chilworth, Surrey and St Martha's Hill to the north.^[1] The manor is grade II listed by English Heritage.^[2]

History

It was recorded in the Domesday Book as a monastery. The monastery was destroyed by Henry VIII and by 1580 was owned by William Morgan. William's son, John was knighted at Cadiz in 1596.

Sir Ernest Randyll, whose family held Chilworth for over a century, married John's daughter. During the time when Chilworth Manor was owned by the Randylls, the South front was built. This is the earliest recognisable part of the Manor - the architect is unknown. Morgan Randyll ^[3] was MP for Guildford from 1680 to 1712. As a result of the costs involved in the Elections, the property was sold to Richard Houlditch, a director of the South Sea Company. After losses involved with the 1720 South Sea Bubble, the manor was again sold.

In 1725 Sarah, the widow of the Duke of Marlborough became owner. She added the Marlborough Wing, developed a tiered garden excavated in the sloping hillside and still known as the "Duchess's Garden". It then passed through inheritances to the Duke of Northumberland who held it until the 1930s.^[4]

Sir Lionel and Lady Heald lived at the manor for over 60 years. He was attorney-general in Churchill's government. She worked for many charitable causes including the National Garden Scheme of which she was chairwoman.

Since Lady Heald's death in 2004 ^[5] extensive restoration work has been carried out and the garden, fittingly, opened as part of the National Garden Scheme.

In films

The house was one of the filming locations of ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot episode Taken at the Flood in 2006.^[6]

References

Coordinates: 51°13′14.1″N 0°31′51.6″W / 51.220583°N 0.531000°W / 51.220583; -0.531000