Buckwell Place

Buckwell Place (formerly Herstmonceux Rectory) is a country house within the civil parish of Herstmonceux, East Sussex, England. It is a privately owned Grade II* listed building, and is not open to the public.

Buckwell Place was the childhood home of the travel-writer and raconteur Augustus Hare, and his uncle, the theologian Julius Charles Hare, who entertained a number of "eminent victorians", namely Thomas Carlyle.

History
Rev. Robert Hare - of the Hare family who owned nearby Herstmonceux Castle - built the original wing of the house in 1792 as a rectory for himself. His nephew, the theologian Julius Charles Hare later occupied the house and extended it in 1833, by constructing a parlour wing and bedroom above. Julius Hare also constructed a domed conservatory between the original wing and the new parlour wing. It has been written that Julius Hare's library at Buckwell Place was "famous" and he entertained a number of "eminent victorians" including the essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle. Julius Hare was known to have collected a number of important books and paintings at Buckwell Place, which were later bequeathed to the University of Cambridge, and then subsequently to the Fitzwilliam Museum. Julius Hare had a nephew, the travel-writer and raconteur Augustus Hare, who was born in 1834, in Rome. Augustus Hare was adopted by his aunt Maria (the widowed sister-in-law of Julius), after his parents renounced all further claim to him. Augustus was then brought up and home-educated by Maria Hare at Julius Hare's house, the newly extended Buckwell Place. Augustus wrote about his childhood at Buckwell Place in his autobiography, The Story of My Life (1896-1900).

After Julius Hare's death in 1855, the house was occupied by the Rev. Henry Wellesley, an illegitimate nephew of the Duke of Wellington. Wellesley constructed a service wing to the west in c.1860. Little is known about the history of Buckwell Place following the death of Wellesley, but it remains a private house today and is no longer a rectory. In 1932, the house was still known as Herstmonceux Rectory, but by 1937, was listed as Buckwell Place.

Architecture
Buckwell Place consists of the original rectory built by Rev. Robert Hare in 1792, the extensions - including the domed conservatory - by Julius Hare in 1833 and the service wing built by Rev. Henry Wellesley in c.1860. The architect is unknown, and likely to have been a local builder.

The northeast entrance front was constructed in 1792. It has two storeys and four bays. The front door features a Gibbs surround, set within a curved recess. The southeast garden front is similarly of two storeys and four bays. The southwest front exhibits the parlour wing built in 1833 by Julius Hare, which has a canted bay window and balcony above. To the west of the house lies the range constructed in c.1860 by Rev. Henry Wellesley, with a set of tripartite windows to the ground floor. Between the southeast garden front and the southwest parlour wing, Julius Hare constructed a domed conservatory in 1833 for the display of ferns and other tropical plants.

The house retains its original curved staircase, along with the 1833 marble fireplace surround in Julius Hare's library and its bookcases.