The new mansion, shown by the accompanying illustrations, is erected on the estate of the Marquis Camden, near Tunbridge Wells, on the north side of the valley, at the bottom of which runs the stream called the Tun, having on its southern margin the remarkably interesting ruins of the abbey said to have been built by the Praemonstratensian canons, in the reign of Richard I.
The foundations for the new building were commenced in 1869, and the first stone of the plinth was laid by the Marchioness Camden, on the 13th day of January, 1870.
The materials used in its construction are as follow :- The walls are built of bricks made upon the estate, faced with Kentish ragstone from the Maidstone quarries, as a general facing, with Combs Down Bath stone quoins, window and door dressings, cornices, &c., and the roofs are covered with green slates from the quarries in North Wales. The ceilings of the principal suite of rooms are subdivided into panels, with moulded ribs, pendants, and enrichments, and the mantelpieces, designed in corresponding style, are composed of coloured marble, Derbyshire spars, and alabaster, executed by Mr. Earp, of Kennington-road.
The character of the architecture and general arrangement of the plan resemble the examples of manorial houses existing in this country, of the latter part of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth century, but adapted to the convenience of modern requirements.
…
The present buildings have been executed from the designs of Mr. David Brandon, and carried out under his superintendence.
Full article
