Building record TQ 55 SW 382 - Park Grange and Park Grange Stables, High Street, Sevenoaks

Park Grange and the adjacent Park Grange Stables were built in the 1860s by Sir George Berkley as his residence. Bought in 1911 by the Johnson brothers, the property was bequeathed to Sevenoaks School in 1948 on the death of Edward Johnson. Lying within 26 acres of grounds, Park Grange is now used as a girls boarding house and ancillary accommodation. The property is an imposing and elegant ragstone building on two storeys, under a shallow hipped slate roof with deep overhanging eaves with moulded supporting brackets. The property has a fine main entrance on the east elevation incorporating pattern glazing and a filigree ironwork balcony above, a single bay and both sash and casement windows. A veranda with glazed roof and first floor balcony feature on the south elevation. The craftsmanship of the ragstone walling is of outstanding quality. Chimney stack to the south elevation features carved stone decorative scrolls. The double hung vertical sliding sash windows appear to be original. A number have decorative (cast iron/timber?) external pelmets which may once have housed exterior blinds. The stable block is mainly single storey under a hipped slate roof, with a first floor section with pitched roof over a central carriage entranceway, and is built mainly of ragstone with a projecting stone string course above window heads. The windows are modern and there appear to be some alterations to structural openings on the front elevation, Stone work surrounds to these openings are poorly matched to the originals with jointing/pointing of stonework excessively thick and contrasting with the stone. The rear of the block features modern single storey brick extensions which are however unobtrusive as they are not visible from the driveway. (1)

<1> Sevenoaks District Council, Sevenoaks District Council Local List of Heritage Assets (Index). SKE53505.

<2> Architectural History Practice, 2017, Heritage impact assessment, Park Grange, Sevenoaks School Sevenoaks, Kent, Development in the grounds (Unpublished document). SKE52989.