Wallett's Court

B&B, Hotel, Restaurant and Spa

While the history of Wallett's Court as a hotel only dates back to 1975, the earliest evidence of a building on the site is the Domesday Book of 1085; documents tell us that Bishop Odo of Bayeux (half-brother of William the Conqueror) was given eighty-four manors, one of which was the 'Manor of Westcliffe'.

Four years later Bishop Odo was disgraced and the manor was granted to Hamo de Crévecoeur, who'd fought with William at the Battle of Hastings and was rewarded with extensive lands in Kent, also including Leeds Castle.

The Crévecoeur family held the property until 1248 when it was passed to the De Criol family. Bertram de Criol passed the manor to Gilbert de Peche who sold it to Queen Eleanor of Castille (wife of King Edward I) for the sum of 1000 Marks. It's possible it was chosen by the queen for its position at Westcliffe - close to the Channel but still private - although it's not known if she ever stayed there.

Following her death in 1290, a series of crosses (the "Eleanor crosses") were constructed throughout the country, each including a stone effigy of Eleanor - a wooden copy of this figure was carved into the dining room of Wallett's Court and for some time the manor was known as Queen Eleanor's Palace.

Over the years after her death, the manor was owned by the Priory Church of Canterbury, Sir Gawan Corder, the De Cobham family and Sir Edward de Burgh, who we know was the owner in 1480.

The Gibbon family took possession in 1573 and in Thomas Gibbon's will of 1596 the name Wallett's Court is used for the first time. The reason for this name is not certain although a priest by the name of 'Wallett' was known to be in Kent around that time. The manor remained with the Gibbon family for almost a hundred years - there are several reminders of them in the house, including the oak porch with the initials 'T' for Thomas and 'D' for Dorothy Gibbon engraved along with the date 1627.

Sir Streynsham Master purchased the house in 1660 and Lord Matthew Aylmer, Admiral of the Fleet, is know to have retired there by 1700. Soon after 1720, Wallet's Court became a tenanted farm but was still owned by local notable families including George Leith, Thomas Peck and the Poynter brothers. William Pitt the Younger (Prime Minister until 1801) is known to have been paying the rent for Wallett's Court in 1804 and 1805 before his death in Janaury 1906.

Several tenant farmers worked at Wallett's Court up to the mid-1930's when the Dare family bought the farm. During the Second World War the house was evacuated and a battalion of gunners, who were manning nearby wartime guns, moved in. Members of the Dare family, along with other occupants from earlier years, including the Gibbons, are buried in the churchyard opposite.

From 1973 the house was empty and began falling into disrepair until Christopher and Leonora Oakley purchased the property in 1975 and gradually turned the run-down estate into a bed and breakfast, and later a hotel, restaurant and spa.

The hotel closed in 2016 and the manor has now returned to use as a private residence.

Contact details at the time: