Horne's Place Chapel

A rare survival of a fine domestic chapel, built for William Horne in 1366 and attached to his timber-framed manor house, which was attacked during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.

Viewing only by prior arrangement.

History

Horne’s Place was the seat of the influential Horne family from 1276, when Edward I granted land containing the manor to Matthew Horne. The chapel was licensed for divine service in 1366.

A domestic chapel allowed a family to attend services conveniently at home rather than obliging them to travel to the parish church, and receipt of the licence for worship was an indicator of the family’s high status.  

During Wat Tyler’s rising in 1381 the manor house was forcibly entered and valuable goods were stolen. William Horne, then owner of the house and a Justice of the Peace, was made one of the commissioners responsible for crushing the revolt in Kent.

Later, the chapel fell out of religious use. It was used as a barn in the 19th and early 20th centuries.