More information : (SP 41600560). The Kitchen (AT) (1)
The Chapel and Pope's Tower, together with the Great Kitchen are the principal remains of a C15th moated house, which quickly fell into ruins after the death of Sir Philip Harcourt in 1688. The kitchen is a square tower rising in a single storey to an octagonal tiled roof. (2)
Additional reference. (3)
The visible remains of the manor consist of the kitchen, much of the walling of Manor Farm and the W wall of Pope's Tower. (4)
The Great Kitchen approx. 40m S of Harcourt House. Kitchen c.1485, with possible earlier origins. One of the finest kitchens in existence. (5)
Probably part of the late C14th buildings of Thomas Harcourt, it was re-roofed in 1485, the windows are C15th. Inside are spaces for 2 fires against one wall with 3 ovens opposite. The smoke escaped through shutters below the roof, now replaced by windows.
[See also SP 40 NW 8]. (6)
This authority shows a scale drawing of the kitchen (drawn by G Follett 1908). It is of the C14th and C15th re-roofed in 1485. The roof is octagonal, carried on squinches, and arch-braced in 3 tiers. (7)
This record represents the unfortified Medieval manor at Stanton Harcourt which has seen multiple phases of occupation.
The land passed to Richard de Harcourt from his wife in the late 12th century and it is for this family that the village was named. The manor was probably built for the most part in the late 14th century and completed in the early to mid 15th century and constructed around a courtyard which is now represented by the rose garden. Following the death of Sir Phillip Harcourt in 1688 the building fell into disrepair, as his relatives abandoned the house and lived elsewhere. Much of the building material for the new house in 1758 at their estate in Nuneham came from demolished parts of the manor. Of the original manor only parts of the service wing, including what is known as the Great Kitchen, as well as a chapel and residential tower survive.
The exact date of the Great Kitchen is debated, but it was certainly built by 1485 when the roof was repaired. It has been suggested that the Kitchen is contemporary with the earliest parts of the house and it is regarded as one of the best examples of a Medieval kitchen range in the country. It stands at two storeys, constructed of limestone rubble with a crenellated parapet and conical roof of stone slate. There is no chimney although there were louvers accessed from the roof which allowed smoke to escape. The building is square in plan with each face measuring approximately 10 metres. The interior has blackened timber and a flag floor and although there is no fireplace there are ovens, one of which has an original Medieval door. Despite the disrepair of most of the manor the Kitchen was still in use in the years of 1717-1718 as Alexander Pope makes reference to these in writings when he was staying in the tower (UID 984001). The service range is attached to the Great Kitchen and is now a farmhouse. It was built in the 15th century, possibly contemporary with the replacement roof of the Kitchen. It has had an early 19th century two-storey extension but is otherwise fairly complete. Most of the alterations dating to the 19th and 20th centuries are cosmetic.
When the family sold the Nuneham estate in 1948 they returned to Stanton Harcourt. Due to the demolition of most of the original manor they now occupy Harcourt House, based around the gatehouse. The gatehouse was constructed in 1540 but remodelled as a house in around 1868. There does not appear to be any evidence that the original manor was moated. (5; 8-10)
Additional reference and aerial photograph. (11)
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