Grade I listed West Horsley Place is an extraordinary manor house set within a 380-acre estate, including a historic Grade II listed 5-acre walled garden, featuring a rare crinkle-crankle wall, and a Grade II listed 18^thand 19^th-century farm complex with a stable block, barn and outbuildings. Located near Guildford in Surrey, the house has been in private ownership for over 600 years and is one of the most intriguing historic houses in England.

Support the restoration of West Horsley Place

The Restoration of West Horsley Place

Before we can bring to life our vision to 'open the doors of West Horsley Place to all for the first time in one thousand years as a welcoming space for the community to share and enjoy with arts, culture, history and nature at its heart'  West Horsley Place requires extensive repairs.

Sadly, many of the buildings in the estate are now in a poor state of repair, and West Horsley Place is currently on Historic England’s 'Heritage At Risk Register'. Considerable phased works are required to repair structural instability and prevent further decay. The house has no heating, limited lighting and electricity, no fire protection systems and limited toilet facilities.

We urgently need to carry out emergency repairs to the house and parts of the garden walls that are in danger of collapse and to install modern services to allow us to open the house and the estate buildings to the public for the first time in their long history.

Our Plans

The most urgent emergency repairs have been carried out to make the manor house is safe. Considerable restoration works are now required to repair structural instability and to save the buildings from further deterioration.

The next phase of repairs will allow us to carry out the works needed to open the house and the estate buildings to the public. This includes:

• Further repair and restoration of Grade I listed West Horsley Place manor house.
  
• Repair and restoration of Grade II listed 18th-century walled gardens.
• Repairs to the Place Farm complex and conversion of the buildings to allow us to open them to the public as a centre for history, visual and performing arts and crafts.

We are also developing an exciting new programme of activities and events in consultation with potential visitors and the local community.

PHASE 1 TOTAL COST: £4.6 million - Due to complete by late 2020

PHASE 1A - Grade I listed Manor House

The first phase of works to the manor house includes emergency works to address urgent repairs to the manor house, installation of heating, plumbing, toilets, lighting, electricity, drainage, fire protection and repairs to the areas of the garden walls which are in danger of collapse.

This will allow us to open West Horsley Place to visitors on a more regular basis for house tours and to hold arts, craft and history-themed talks, courses, exhibitions and events within the beautiful historic setting of the manor house.

PHASE 1B - Grade II listed Place Farm

The first phase of works to the Place Farm complex includes urgent structural repairs to the barn, coach house and the first phase of conversion of these spaces into an arts and crafts centre.

The large Grade II listed 19th-century barn, with its four attached extensions will be transformed into a multi-purpose performance and arts space. 

For the performing arts, there will be sound, projection and lighting equipment providing a perfect space for performances by local drama societies and schools. The barn will also provide space for the teaching of arts and crafts and for art exhibitions. 

This complex of buildings will also be of great importance to the charity as a way of raising funds to maintain the site and support our charitable works. It will be used for functions as varied as weddings, dances, dinners, commercial performances and lectures. A small cafe will provide refreshment for visitors. 

What Next? 

We are developing and fundraising for the next phase of this major restoration project, which will include the restoration of the manor house, gardens, Place Farm stableblock and 380-acre estate to allow us to open new areas of West Horsley Place to the public and continue to develop West Horsley Place as an exciting new centre for arts, crafts, culture, community, history and nature.