Oxon Hoath
Encyclopedia
Oxon Hoath is a Grade II* listed Châteauesque-style
Châteauesque
Châteauesque is one of several terms, including Francis I style, and, in Canada, the Château Style, that refer to a revival architectural style based on the French Renaissance architecture of the monumental French country homes built in the Loire Valley from the late fifteenth century to the...

 former manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...

 with 73 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

s (29½ hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

s) of grounds at West Peckham
West Peckham
West Peckham is a village in the local government district of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. The River Bourne flows through the extreme west of the parish, and formerly powered a paper mill and corn mill . The Wateringbury Stream rises in the parish...

, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

. The spellings Oxenhoath, Oxen Hoath and Oxonhoath are common alternatives. The spelling Oxenholt was also used it the past. The manor is a former royal deer park
Medieval deer park
A medieval deer park was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank. The ditch was typically on the inside, thus allowing deer to enter the park but preventing them from leaving.-History:...

. Oxon Hoath has been the seat of two baronetcies, and of five High Sheriffs
High Sheriff of Kent
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...

 of Kent. It has a surviving example of parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...

 gardens in its grounds.

History

Oxon Hoath (sometimes rendered as Oxenholt) was built by Sir John Culpeper
John Culpeper
John Culpeper lived from 1366 to 1414. He was styled "Sir John Culpeper of Oxon Hoath, Knight", a knight in the court of King Henry V of England. The family's name is believed to derive from the herb.-External links:*...

 during the reign of King Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

, as a Royal Park for oxen and deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

. The Culpepers had been in West Peckham
West Peckham
West Peckham is a village in the local government district of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. The River Bourne flows through the extreme west of the parish, and formerly powered a paper mill and corn mill . The Wateringbury Stream rises in the parish...

 since c1355, a date of 1372 is claimed for the house. On Sir John's death in 1416, the manor passed to his son Sir William Culpeper, who was High Sheriff of Kent
High Sheriff of Kent
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...

 in 1426-27. On Sir William's death, the manor passed to his son Sir Richard Culpeper. He died without male issue in 1484, and his estate passed to his daughters Elizabeth, Joyce
Joyce Culpeper
Jocasta "Joyce" Culpeper, of Oxon Hoath was the mother of Catherine Howard, the fifth wife and Queen Consort to King Henry VIII.-Early life:...

, and Margaret. Oxon Hoath passed to Margaret's husband, William Cotton. On his death, Oxon Hoath passed to his son Sir Thomas Cotton, who alienated
Alienation (property law)
Alienation, in property law, is the capacity for a piece of property or a property right to be sold or otherwise transferred from one party to another. Although property is generally deemed to be alienable, it may be subject to restraints on alienation....

 the estate to John Chowne of Fairlawne, Plaxtol
Plaxtol
Plaxtol is a small village of about 1,000 inhabitants in Kent. The River Bourne flows through the parish, and formerly powered three watermills in Plaxtol - Winfield Mill , Longmill and Roughway Paper Mill....

.

Oxon Hoath then passed to Nicholas Miller of Wrotham
Wrotham
Wrotham is a village situated on the Pilgrims' Way in Kent, at the foot of the North Downs. It is located one mile north of Borough Green and approximately five miles east of Sevenoaks. It is within the junction of the M20 and M26 motorways....

, and on his death in 1640 to his son Sir Nicholas Miller, who enlarged the house. On the death of Sir Nicholas in 1658, the estate passed to his son Humphry Miller who died in 1709. The estate then passed to his son Sir Borlase Miller, who died in 1714. Oxon Hoath then passed to Sir Borlase's sister Elizabeth Bartholomew and via her to her husband Leonard Bartholomew. On his death in 1720, the estate passed to his son Philip Bartholomew, who died in 1730. Oxon Hoath then passed to his son Philip, who died in 1757 and left the estate to William Geary
Sir William Geary, 2nd Baronet
Sir William Geary, 2nd Baronet was an English Tory politician from West Peckham in Kent. He sat in the House of Commons from 1796 to 1806, and from 1812 to 1818.He lived at Oxon Hoath in West Peckham....

, second son of Sir Francis Geary
Sir Francis Geary, 1st Baronet
Sir Francis Geary was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, and the American War of Independence, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral.-Family and early life:...

 of Polesden Lacey
Polesden Lacey
Polesden Lacey is an Edwardian house and estate. It is located on the North Downs at Great Bookham, near Dorking, Surrey, England. It is owned and run by the National Trust and is one of the Trust's most popular properties....

, Great Bookham
Great Bookham
-Today:The village has a high street, located in Great Bookham, which is, as its name suggests, the larger of the two villages. It has two butchers, a family run fishmongers and two traditional greengrocers...

, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

.

Oxon Hoath was remodelled in 1757. In 1846 Sir William Geary commissioned the mansard dome and château tower from Anthony Salvin
Anthony Salvin
Anthony Salvin was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations...

. The grounds were landscaped in the style of Capability Brown
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...

 by William Andrews Nesfield. Further additions were made to the house in 1878 by Burn and McVicar Anderson, who added a billiard room
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...

 on the east side of the house. The manor remained in the Geary family, passing from Sir William to Sir William Richard Geary in 1825, then to Sir Francis Geary in 1877 and to Sir William Neville Geary in 1895. Sir William Neville Geary died on 26 December 1944.

Oxon Hoath was listed on 1 August 1952. Other structures connected with the estate were listed on 19 April 1985. As of 2010, Oxonhoath is used as an open retreat centre. The main house is listed as Grade II*, The entrance wall and gate to the kitchen garden
Kitchen garden
The traditional kitchen garden, also known as a potager, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden - the ornamental plants and lawn areas...

 are listed as Grade II, as are the north, south, east, and west gates; and the gatehouse at the west gate. Oxon Hoath survives as the only unaltered parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...

 gardens in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Baronetcies

Oxon Hoath has been the seat for two separate Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

cies.
  • Miller
    Miller Baronets
    There have been four Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Miller, two in the Baronetage of England, one in the Baronetage of Ireland and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Two of the creations are extant as of 2008....

    , (1660–1714)
    • Sir Humphrey Miller, 1st Baronet
    • Sir Borlase Miller, 2nd Baronet
  • Geary
    Geary Baronets
    The Geary Baronetcy, of Oxenheath in the County of Kent, was a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. It was created on 17 August 1782 for Francis Geary, an Admiral in the Royal Navy. His eldest son and heir, also called Francis Geary, fought in the American War of Independence and was killed in...

    , (1796–1944)
    • Sir William Geary, 2nd Baronet
      Sir William Geary, 2nd Baronet
      Sir William Geary, 2nd Baronet was an English Tory politician from West Peckham in Kent. He sat in the House of Commons from 1796 to 1806, and from 1812 to 1818.He lived at Oxon Hoath in West Peckham....

    • Sir William Richard Powlett Geary, 3rd Baronet
    • Sir Francis Geary, 4th Baronet
    • Sir William Nevill Montgomerie Geary, 5th Baronet

High Sheriffs

These High Sheriffs of Kent
High Sheriff of Kent
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...

 lived at Oxon Hoath.
  • Sir William Culpeper, High Sheriff in 1427.
  • Sir Richard Culpeper, High Sheriff in 1453.
  • Nicholas Miller, High Sheriff in 1608.
  • Sir Humphry Miller, High Sheriff in 1666.
  • Leonard Bartholomew, High Sheriff in 1713.

Sources

p59, p63, p64, p65,
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