Pictures of Bletchingley

About Bletchingley

Anne of Cleeves made her home close to this village following divorce by Henry VIII when Henry gifted to his ex-queen the graceful manor of Place Farm. This was in the year 1540 and the present house which throughout the passage of time has been the subject of rebuilding and restoration, today dates mainly from the 18th-century.

Bletchingley is a 'picture postcard' village of charming red brick houses and cottages with tile-hung roofs. Timber frame cottages with thick thatch roofs are inset here and there, some have pretty gardens while others are reached from flights of stone steps direct from the paved footpath that runs the length of the main street. There is an Inn which bears the date 1388 but it is thought to have only been a public house since 1704. Church Walk, once the old High Street has an important black and white timber framed property which is of 16th-century origin.

Perhaps the church is the most impressive of all Bletchingley's fine buildings. The church of St. Mary is built of sandstone and medieval gargoyles line the nave and the south aisle. The church has many treasures, it also has a small window which opens on to a hermit's cell, possibly used by Roger the Hermit, who is said to have visited these parts in the 13th-century.

There is an effigy of Sir Robert Clayton, renowned money-lender, Lord Myor and MP for the City of London that is considered to be one of the finest of it's kind in the country. Sir Robert, who owned Bletchingley, died in 1707.

Other parts of this village that are of special interest is the site where ramparts of a Norman Castle are covered in woodland. Nearby is the fine Jacobean property of Pendell Court which dates 1624. In stark contrast, the house next door, Pendell House is of Classical style and built only twelve years later in 1636.

Bletchingley is an enchanting village set just south of the M25 and but a stone's throw away from the NT properties of Emmetts and Chartwell. The area offers a couple of fine golf courses and is around an hours drive from all the attractions of the City of London