Details

The monument includes a domestic chapel dating to the medieval period situated
on low lying ground c.2km north of the village of Appledore, on the north
western edge of Romney Marsh. The chapel building, which is Listed at Grade
II*, dates to the late 14th century, and has been shown by detailed building
survey to have undergone a complex history of alteration and repair, the most
significant phases of which include early 16th century alterations and
restoration during the 1950s. It is constructed of coursed Kentish Ragstone
rubble with some yellow brick, capped with a red clay-tiled pitched roof. The
monument is the earliest standing wing of an attached manor house to the north
east which incorporates two early 16th century solar bays and a hall and
service range rebuilt on the site of an earlier range during the 17th century.
The Grade II* Listed manor house is in use as a private dwelling and is not
included in the scheduling.
The chapel is a south west-north east aligned, rectangular building measuring
c.8.25m by 5.4m, arranged on two floors. The chapel itself is situated above a
partly sunken undercroft used originally for storage. The undercroft,
entered by way of modern steps descending from the ground on the south eastern
side of the building through a pointed-arched doorway, has a barrel-vaulted
ceiling of yellow bricks dating to c.1520 and a stone flagged floor. Some
natural lighting is afforded by two small, deeply splayed windows placed
centrally in the south western and north eastern ends. Access to the chapel is
through an inserted cambered doorway in the south western wall, above which is
a now blocked doorway with a four-centred head in yellow brick, originally
giving access to a gallery built at the south western end of the chapel during
the 1520s, although this has not survived. The two entrances are thought to
have been linked by an external spiral staircase which is also no longer
extant. There is a further, earlier, now blocked doorway in the north eastern
wall which linked the chapel to the original hall wing of the attached manor
house. The chapel is mainly lit by a large, restored window in the Early
Perpendicular style which pierces the north eastern wall. This is traceried
and incorporates triple cinquefoil motifs. The south eastern side wall is
pierced towards its southern end by a restored, three-light window with triple
cinquefoil tracery beneath a depressed ogee arch. This lies opposite a similar
window in the north eastern wall. A small square hagioscope, or squint, which
allowed an oblique view into or out of the chapel, is also set into the south
eastern wall just to the south west of the larger window. An inserted,
double-light cinquefoil window with a square head located just to the north of
the gallery door in the south western end has been dated to the early 16th
century.
The present chapel roof dates to the 1520s, with some 20th century
restoration work, and is of an unusual form with widely spaced rafters between
heavily moulded, arched principal trusses supported by stone corbels decorated
with a Catherine Wheel. This motif suggests that the chapel may have been
dedicated to St Catherine, although this is not known for certain. The roof is
ceiled between the rafters by contemporary wooden pannelling.
Horne's Place was the seat of the influential Horne family from 1276, when
Edward I gave land containing the manor to Matthew de Horne. The chapel was
licenced for Divine Service in 1366. During Wat Tyler's rebellion in 1381, the
manor house was forcibly entered and goods worth 10 pounds were stolen.
William de Horne, then in residence and a Justice of the Peace, was
subsequently made one of the commissioners reponsible for crushing the
Peasants' Revolt in Kent. The Horne family used the manor as their main
residence until c.1565, when it passed to the Guldeford family, and
subsequently the Chute family. The chapel was used as a barn during the 19th
and early 20th centuries. The monument is now in the guardianship of the
Secretary of State and is open to the public.
All rain water goods, English Heritage fixtures and fittings, modern wooden
doors, and the attached wooden railings enclosing the steps which lead down to
the undercroft on the south eastern side of the building are excluded from the
scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Domestic chapels provided for the practice of regular Christian worship
amongst high status families throughout the medieval period and beyond,
allowing the lord's family to attend services conveniently at home, rather
than travel to the parish church. They are usually located within the
curtilage of manor houses, often within a separate block attached to the hall
range, or within a detached building nearby. As they required the grant of a
special licence for Divine Worship, contemporary diocesan records often
provide evidence for the date of their foundation, although the date of the
licence usually slightly predates the construction of the chapel. Domestic
chapels are distributed throughout England, being particularly associated with
manor houses located at some distance from the parish church. They are a
relatively rare monument type, often exhibiting the highest standards of
contemporary architecture and displaying artistic aspirations and changing
fashions. Those which retain significant archaeological or architectural
remains will merit protection.
The domestic chapel at Horne's Place survives well and has been shown by
detailed building survey to retain many features dating to the 14th and early
16th centuries. The hagioscope and intact 16th century roof are particularly
unusual survivals, and the original 14th century windows illustrate a
transitional phase of the gothic architectural style, displaying both
Decorated and Perpendicular characteristics.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
full survey, incl. plans and sections, PSB, RCHME, Hornes Place, Appledore, Kent, (1989)

Source: Historic England