Kempton Manor

Has been described as a Possible Palace (Royal)

There are no visible remains

NameKempton Manor
Alternative Names
Historic CountryLondon and Middlesex
Modern AuthoritySurrey
1974 AuthoritySurrey
Civil ParishSunbury

In 1228 Henry III asked Hubert de Burgh for his manor at Kempton in exchange for lands elsewhere. He constructed a new kitchen, chapel and chambers. The chapel was damaged by fire in 1236 and replaced by a new chapel. This was a two-storey timber building measuring 30 feet by 12 feet, with the Queen's chamber above. A separate chapel was built for the King's use. A smithy and bakehouse are also documented. The buildings stood within a walled courtyard entered by a timber-framed gateway. In 1244 the old gateway at Westminster was dismantled and re-erected at Kempton. A survey of 1331 shows the site to be largely ruinous. In 1374 Edward III granted the site to John of Kingston, giving him permission to demolish it and to sell the materials for his own profit. Thereafter, the only references to it in the royal accounts are to the park and the lodge which took the place of the manor house. (PastScape)

The site of the medieval manor-house may be represented by the traces of moats west and north of the present Kempton Park House. (VCH)

Gatehouse Comments

This house has been demolished. Excavation in the early 1970's, designed to find the royal place located remains of demolished C17 Hyde House but no significant medieval finds. Whatever traces may have been visible are now gone.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceTQ118700
Latitude51.4183197021484
Longitude-0.393730014562607
Eastings511800
Northings170000
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Calculate Print

Books

  • Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol. 2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p. 965-7
  • 1962, 'Sunbury: Manors' VCH Middlesex Vol. 3 p. 56-7 online transcription

Primary Sources

  • C145/117 (11) (Survey of 1331) The National Archives reference (calendared in Maxwell Lyte, H.C., 1916, Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous (Chancery), preserved in the Public Record Office (H.M.S.O.) Vol. 2 p. 300 No. 1220 (wrongly described as Windsor Castle) [online copy > https://archive.org/stream/calendarofinqu02grea#page/300/mode/1up])