Stoneacre

About the museum

Stoneacre is a half-timbered Wealden hall-house at Otham, built in the 1480s by John Ellys, a yeoman farmer. The Ellys family held it until 1725, after which it was let to tenants and gradually fell into disrepair; the steep slope and weak foundations damaged the north wing in the sixteenth century, and the lower floors there were rebuilt in stone.

In 1920 Aymer Vallance, an art critic and writer connected to the Arts and Crafts movement, bought the near-ruin and restored it as a Tudor yeoman's home. He reopened the great hall to its full height, added a south extension with a library and built a new west wing using timbers and features from a demolished sixteenth-century farmhouse at Chiddingstone. He gave the house to the National Trust in 1928.

Today visitors see the Great Hall, the parlour and the solar, with collections of furniture, wood and metalwork, and a small garden with a ginkgo tree, an orchard and meadows. Footpaths lead into the Otham valley. The house is open only in the warmer months.

Highlights

• Fifteenth-century Wealden hall-house with a great hall open to the roof
• Rooms restored in the 1920s by Aymer Vallance, including the parlour and the solar
• Collections of furniture, woodwork and metalwork
• Front garden with a ginkgo tree and a more natural rear garden with an orchard
• Woodland walks over the Otham valley

Permanent exhibition

• The house and garden – A fifteenth-century yeoman's house with a Great Hall, parlour and solar, and collections of furniture, wood and metalwork.

Operated by

National Trust

Admission & discounts

Prices for the whole property without Gift Aid; with Gift Aid the adult price is £9.40, child £4.70, family £23.40 and one-adult family £14.10. Free entry for National Trust members. Card payment only for entry.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Access is partial: a stone path to the entrance is uneven, and parts of the garden are on several levels with steep slopes and steps. There is a drop-off point near the house and two Blue Badge spaces opposite the main gate. Seating is available in the house and garden. Only assistance dogs may enter the buildings; dogs on leads are welcome in the garden. Parking is unsuitable for motorhomes, caravans and trailers.

Kids & families

Picnics are welcome in the garden, and there is an indoor picnic area.

Getting there & parking

Some satellite navigation systems give misleading directions: head for Otham village and follow the brown tourist signs. Cycling information is on the National Trust page.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available

There is no tea room at present; visitors can bring picnics and drinks to enjoy in the garden or the indoor picnic area. A toilet is on the ground floor of the property.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The house is available for functions; enquiries go to the property by email.

Plan your visit