The Leveson-Gower Family and the K. A. S

Amongst the list of members in the first volume of Arch. Cant. is that of William Leveson Gower of Titsey Place, Surrey. He died in 1860, but by Volume IV was succeeded as a member by his son, Granville Leveson-Gower who became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He was also a Vice-President of the Surrey Archaeological Society and contributed many papers in Surrey Archaeological Collections and Archaeologia Cantiana, especially on the Edenbridge area. He excavated a Roman Villa on his estate, which reaches the County border in the Westerham area.

The reason for this note is that Titsey Place is now regularly open to the Public (Wednesday and Sunday afternoons, 1 to 5 pm until 29th, Sept.) and one of the rooms on the tour is Granville Leveson-Gower's sitting room, rich in dark oak panelling. The Titsey Estate was bought by John Gresham, Lord Mayor of London in 1534 and passed to a junior branch of the famous Staffordshire Whig family by marriage in 1804. The Greshams had moved the Parish Church from the lawn beside the house, but had left some very early tombstones, still visible under the Yew Tree. Granville was responsible for the Victorian garden and employed John Loughborough Pearson to rebuild the Church of St. James in 1861 and was himself buried there (and given a recumbent medieval effigy).

His grandson, Major Richard Leveson-Gower was also a Vice-President of the Surrey Archaeological Society, but will be remembered in Kent as the Army Officer responsible for organising the trains to distribute the men brought back to Dover Marine Station from Dunkirk.

Before the line died out the Titsey Foundation was set up to continue to run the estate. The church is now redundant and the Foundation looks after that also.

Kenneth Gravett