The Banks

The land itself carries centuries in its soil. Once held by King Harold before the Norman conquest, it passed to Onfroy du Tilleul - featured in the Bayeux Tapestry - and later to Robert, Count of Eu, whose name appears in the Domesday Book. A hoard of ancient Celtic ring money was discovered nearby in 1863, adding yet another layer to the story beneath our feet.

At its heart stands a medieval hall house - built in the 13th century, expanded during Elizabeth I’s reign, and later shaped by Victorian ambition. The house once belonged to Sir John Bennett, the flamboyant watchmaker and Sheriff of London, and later to Charles Egerton, whose wife Mabelle Annie Brassey descended from one of Britain’s greatest railway dynasties.