Public Open Days at Horsman's Place
Public Open Days at Horsman's Place
by Chris Baker & Michael Bryant
"What is there behind those great advertising hoardings that should excite our interest?", might well have been the first question asked by some of the 500-600 people who attended the site of Horsman's Place, Lowfield Street, Dartford during the open days on 23rd and 24th July. In fact, after they had viewed the excavations and looked at the displays of artifacts, copy documents, drawings, maps and photographs, they, and those invited to a preview on Friday evening, 22nd, asked members of Dartford District Archaeological Group many discerning and shrewd questions when responding to the discourse of the DDAG guides.
The group had worked on the site of Horsman's Place alias 'The Doctor's Surgery', since early 1980 and at a time when patients were still attending the surgery and consequently work was limited to the gardens. About a year later the 19th century house was vacated and a critical survey of the building began before demolition took place earlier this year and the work of excavating down through the foundations to natural ground level became possible.
A mansion of some importance has stood here since at least as early as 1321 then in the ownership of Thomas de Luda. By about 1413 Thomas de Shadelow held it and he gave it to his daughter, Margaret, on her marriage in 1420 to Thomas Horsman, who before his death in 1422, had, according to Dunkin (1844) " ... very probably enlarged and rebuilt the mansion and called it after his own name, which it has ever since retained". This was the first of three phases of reconstruction that the building underwent between the 15th and 19th centuries. After passing through the hands of several owners the estate was purchased in 1541 by John Beer (Byer) and he demolished the old building and built a new mansion with a separate gatehouse in its stead. To mark completion "J.B. 1551" was inscribed over the archway to the gatehouse.
Between 1541 and 1627 four generations of the Beer family owned the estate and in the latter year it passed, via Ann Twisleton (daughter of John Beer), to a John Twisleton, he being the first of five John Twisletons to own the property. By the year 1721 a decline in the state of Horsman's Place had set in and when Thomas Twisleton sold the estate in 1768 the mansion had been empty for some years and was in a bad state of disrepair, so much so that the new owners had difficulty in letting it. In about 1782 it was let to James Storey whose primary interest, as a market gardener, was in the cultivation of the extensive grounds. After living for some years in the now dilapidated mansion (and sub-letting it to the Headmaster of Dartford Grammar School for 2 years), James Storey wrote to his landlord and asked permission to demolish the old mansion and replace it with a house of smaller dimensions better suited to his business. Perhaps surprisingly his landlord agreed. The new building was eventually bought by James Storey and his 19th century building was later to become known as 'The Doctor's Surgery'. We now turn to the story of what DDAG's excavations have revealed.
As mentioned the Tudor structure was comprised of two separate buildings, a mansion and a gatehouse. It is now reasonably certain that the building remains that lay below the Doctor's Surgery relate to the gatehouse, the house itself buried under the line of Lowfield Street to the north. The foundations of the gatehouse and those laid down at earlier periods have disclosed the material and constructional differences. The earliest part, using chalk block walls, had been badly damaged and is considered to be early 15th century work. Over these walls a long rectangular building had been constructed running east/west, again chalk had been used along with flint and some stone. These walls could have supported a timber-framed house and is probably that constructed and inhabited by Thomas Horsman. Inside this part of the building several hearths, both rectangular and circular, were found that had been made of roofing tiles set on edge in the ground - some of which were of later than 15th century date. The foundations ran westward through the front wall of the former doctor's surgery, lining up with the cellar walls and forming a 'T' shaped building, the crosspiece of the 'T' being the work of John Beer and largely constructed of brick and stonework with neatly squared chalk blocks forming some of the internal walls. Along the west front wall traces were found of two stone-framed windows which had been blocked up, probably when James Storey rebuilt the house. Further along the wall to the south the upright posts of a carved Tudor door-frame were uncovered, at first these were thought to be in situ but now it seems more likely that the door-frame was removed from elsewhere in the house and re-used when James Storey rebuilt it. Several other areas of 19th century workmanship have been found, including a massive foundation for a chimney stack. Whereas the earlier buildings had faced west, when Storey rebuilt the new smaller house he changed the original aspect and made his frontage face east towards Lowfield Street and at the same time converted the existing ground floor into cellars.
This site with its many different periods of construction has produced one of the most complicated excavations the group has been called upon to undertake, nevertheless it has proved to be a task of great interest and has helped resolve some of the questions raised during this century. It was gratifying to note the shared enthusiasm of many of the members of the public who visited the site to this further unveiling of part of Dartford's past."