Building record 0167100000 - THE MANOR HOUSE, CHENIES

Plan Form - L SHAPED
1 WING REMAINS OF HOUSE. CHENIES IN POSSESSION OF RUSSELL FAMILY BUT MANY YEARS SINCE FAMILY LIVED HERE - Former manor house of the manor of Isenhampstead Chenies. Originally in the hands of the Cheyne family, it eventually came by marriage in 1526 to the Russell family who became successively Earls and Dukes of Bedford. The present Duke of Bedford is the Lord of the Manor "but it is many years since the family ceased to use the old manor house as a residence." [A full manorial history is given.] Leland visiting the house soon after it was rebuilt describes it thus:- "The old house of the Cheynies is so translated by my Lord Russell that little or nothing of it in a manner remaineth untranslated: and a great deal of the house has been newly set up made of brick and timber: and fair logginges be new erected in the garden. The house is within diverse places richly painted with antique works of white and black" (B4).
HOUSE NOW FARMHOUSE AND CHURCHROOM REBUILT 1530 BY JOHN LORD RUSSELL. WALLS OF RED BRICK WITH SOME BLACK GLAZED HEADERS. GOOD EXAMPLE C16 BRICKWORK. PLAN OF C16 HOUSE UNCERTAIN - "C.16, circa 1530, almost entirely rebuilt to original design in C.19. Red brick, tile roof with stepped gables. Elaborate chimney stack partly original but much restored. Small section of E. elevation original with turret and battlemented wall, but windows modern" (B8).
"Chenies Manor House, now a farmhouse and church-room, was built or rebuilt c. 1530 probably by John, Lord Russell, afterwards first Earl of Bedford. The walls are of brick with some black glazed headers, the roofs are tiled. The house is a good example of 16th c. brickwork, the chimney stacks are unusually fine and the shafts are enriched with various forms of ornament. A cellar N of the house is apparently of the 15th c., and part of a former building on the site. The plan of the 16th c. house is uncertain, and only part of it appears to remain; the building is now of modified L-shape, the shorter wing extending towards the N, and the longer wing towards the E. The cellar, a few yards N of the house, is entered through a hole in the ground at the E end. There are two chambers, the first 17' by 16', the second about 7' by 6'. "A small building of brick NW of the house is now in a ruinous condition but is said to have had chimneys resembling those of the house. A long wall of flint and brick N of the house, probably formerly supported a terrace." [detailed description of the house and interior.] (B5).
Grade I. C15 west range and south range of c.1530, altered C19. Brick house with old tile roofs, an important example of the early use of brick in the county. West range of 3 bays, right hand bay set back and 2 storey with crow-step gables is original half with C15 smoke blackened roof; centre bay is staircase tower. Original windows. Battlemented parapet. Left hand bay 2 storeys plus attic with crow-step gables. Porch. West range has semi-octagonal buttresses crowned with pinnacles. West front C19 brickwork and bay windows, part of Edward Blore alterations for Lord Wriothesley Russell in 1830s and 1840s. Stacks with elaborate patterned cut brick Tudor flues. Oriels and mullioned and transomed leaded casements, some restored or replaced C19. Inside C16, C17 panelling and mid C19 interiors. South range: lodgings built by Lord Russell. Two storeys with continuous attic called 'The Armoury'. Mullioned and transomed windows, four 1st floor oriels, much restored C19. Framed and gabled centre piece in roof. To south 6 large projections with crow-step gables incorporating numerous small chambers, privies, closets and staircases. Each crowned by 2, 3 or 4 elaborately patterned Tudor flues. Inside several 4 centred stone fireplaces. Much Tudor panelling remains and finely moulded beams (B14).
NGR to corner of west and south ranges.
Evaluation trenching by Time Team revealed evidence for a phase of 12th-13th century occupation. Two parallel ditches were excavated in Trench 2 and two pits or ditch termini in Trench 12. Pottery suggests they were functional during the twelfth and thirteenth century and other artefacts discovered in later deposits or unstratified were of the same date. There is nothing to suggest they are from a high status manorial site, the favourable location to the west of the church (which itself includes 12th century fabric) on a slight rise and the fact that the late medieval and Tudor manor occupies the site, strongly suggests this was also the site of Isenhampstead Manor, owned by the Cheyne family. The undercroft may be 13th to 16th century. It's location points to the site of the medieval manor house, which is likely to have included a hall, solar and kitchens. Elements of the medieval manor house were probably included in the first Tudor rebuild. The undercroft probably lay under the medieval solar and the hall was aligned north-south, on a similar alignment to the current Tudor manor (B17).
Extensive programme of dendro-dating of timbers in west and south ranges undertaken by the Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory as part of Time Team investigations in March 2004. The West Range produced 3 samples with felling dates of Spring 1537-Summer 1538 for the roof of the south block and 4 samples with felling date ranges of 1515-47, 1517-49 and 1518-50 for the north block, suggesting that both parts of the West Range are broadly contemporary and were constructed in about 1538. The South Range produced 7 samples with felling dates from Spring 1547-Spring 1552 for the Long Gallery roof and 1 sample with a felling date range of 1540-72 for the Long Room, suggesting that the South Range was constructed during 1552 or shortly afterwards. No evidence was found of smoke blackened timbers in the West Range and the framed ceilings of both blocks were found to be integral to the roof and therefore original features. Both floor frames of the South Range were of interest as probably the earliest firmly-dated example of the use of transverse beams with tall thin joists. Another unusual feature was the remains of red ochre-painted assembly marks on timbers in the north block of the West Range and the Long Gallery roof of the South Range. See report for details (B17).
Several buildings stood to the north of the current house, but it is not certain when they were built. A robbed out wall was found in Trench 8, on the line of a linear feature found in geophysical survey. A possible southern wall of this range was also seen in geophysical survey. Another wall was identified in Trench 2 of the Time Team excavation. The 1839 Tithe Map shows the shadow of this range preserved in the courtyard wall. This wall was found in geophysical survey by Time Team, and the geophysical survey shows an east-west aligned north range. The southern end of this range was investigated by geophysical survey and trial trenching but not much evidence was found for it.Trenches 6 and 11 to the north-west found the line of this northern range, which seems to extend into the current churchyard. Another building or range was found to the north-west in Trench 12. Two bay windows were added to this wall, presumably to improve the standard of the accommodation. The block was probably designed to overlook the formal gardens to the north. It was probably first built in a north-south orientation, however, as seen by the geophysical evidence, and then extended to the east at a later date. The medieval manor was probably not big enough to merit or cope with royal visits, this changed on the marriage of John Russell to Ann Sapcote in 1526 when Chenies was chosen as the main family residence. The earliest elements of the structural remains identified during the evaluation in Trench 12 are likely to have been built as part of John Russell's expansion of the manor house. Although these cannot be closely dated on the basis of the archaeological work undertaken, their proximity to the remains of the medieval undercroft and hence to the heart of the medieval manor suggest that these represent the first expansion of the manor house. From the limited remains excavated, it is unclear the function performed by these new buildings, although presumably some of the new structures within the complex were designed to improve the domestic accommodation offered (B17).
Finds from the excavation include fragments of metalwork, some animal bone, glass, clay pipe and ceramic building material. There was a single sherd of Early Bronze Age pottery, some 12th to 13th century pottery and lots of post-medieval and modern pottery. There was also lots of 16th to 19th century brick and tile, 16th century window glass and part of a 17th century glass vessel. A Bronze Age flint flake was also found. Some copper allow aiglets (lace tags) were also found, a copper alloy button and some other copper alloy bits, some iron nails and a spike and lead from windows. Animal bone was mainly cattle and sheep, but there was also pig and bird, possibly a lapwing. Oyster and cockle were also found. See report for more details (B17).



[TQ 0153 9832] MANOR HOUSE [G.T.] (Remains of) (B24).
Chenies Manor House - name confirmed - is no longer a farmhouse but a private residence of some note; the church room exists merely as a room in the house given over to the church by the owner, Mr. Macleod Matthews, for use as a hall &c. The house is in good condition and as described by Authority 2. The cellars, to the north of the north wing, are entered at 'B' (TQ 01499835); they are undoubtedly the undercroft of a building, possibly of the Cheynes manor-house. The ruin noted by Authority 2 at 'A' (TQ 0145 9832) still stands but the N wall has gone and it is roofless. It was a dwelling to judge from the fireplace voids remaining in the south wall, and appears contemporary with the main block. The retaining wall of a terrace noted by Authority 2 is situated at 'C' (TQ 0146 9841); it is c. 2.0 m. high. A.M. survey carried out. G.P.s AO/59/195/1: Ruins from S. 2: Chenies Manor House from SW (B25).
The owner, Mr. Macleod Matthews, who was away during field investigation, was interviewed on 24/5/60. He adds to the above -
a) That the cellars (i.e. the undercroft of an older building) are now considered to be 14th or even possibly 13th century., his informant being "Mr. Weaver of the Ministry of Works".
B) That there is an underground passage system passing into Place House Copse.
C) That the small ruined building to the NW of the house is known
from a Field Book of 1735 (now in the Bedford Office, Bloomsbury) to have been the Nursery Wing of the Great House.
D) That the East Wing is still called the 'New Building' and that he identifies it with Leland's 'fair logginges'.
E) That the house is at present a substaintial Tudor building though much restored, inhabited and in an excellent state of repair, and that he would appreciate the omission of 'Remains of' on O.S. plans and maps. This last point appears to be very reasonable (B26).
No change. Chenies Manor House, on account of the considerable restoration and rebuilding that has been carried out in the past, cannot qualify as an outstanding building (B27).
Part of the area lying over the undercroft of Chenies Manor was cleared of soil. A plain tile brick floor, possibly of the early 19th century, was exposed, indicating that the undercroft, at one period at least, lay beneath a building (B28).

This record includes National Record of the Historic Environment Information provided by Historic England on 4 June 2025 licensed under the Open Government Licence.