Ightham Mote, Kent
This collection has 3,137 items online
A collection 17th century furniture and tapestries; early 16th century German stained glass; and a rare 18th century Chinese export porcelain bowl, decorated with English hunting scenes.
Ightham Mote is one of the oldest medieval manor houses to survive in England. The core of the house dates from the 1340s, although a complicated series of alterations and additions were made in the late 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. A moat surrounds the four wings of the house, which in turn is built around an open courtyard. Ightham Mote bears few external signs of change in architectural style, partly due to the modest ambition of its successive owners who expanded the house as their needs dictated but only did so in a manner sympathetic to the medieval origins of the house. Nonetheless, when it came to interior decoration, successive generations responded to each new fashion as it came along. For instance, a Jacobean staircase and chimney pieces were installed; Palladian and Gothick windows were inserted; and the walls were hung with hand-painted Chinese wallpaper from the 18th century or were covered with panelling in the ‘Old English’ style.
A collection 17th century furniture and tapestries; early 16th century German stained glass; and a rare 18th century Chinese export porcelain bowl, decorated with English hunting scenes.