STATELY HOMES, CASTLES & TOWERS

SHURLAND HALL
HIGH ST, EAST CHURCH, EASTCHURCH, SHEERNESS ME1

No Website - Private residence
**PARANORMAL ACTIVITY**
There have been sightings and strange happenings at Shurland's house over the last few centuries, and according to  Charles Igglesden in his book," A Saunter through Kent with Pen and Pencil, XXVIII" First Edition in 1912. He tells of a female informant who told him that people would never stay in the great hall at midnight, due to a ghostly lady wearing black silk who had been seen,  (there are stories that she is  Grace Davis, a woman who drowned herself in the pond there in 1769 but this could be confused with the ghost of the old pond house in  Eastchurch, see Old Pond house - Eastchurch on Other hauntings for info on her). 
This female also told him that a big black dog had been seen, and the service bells would go off for some unknown reason. Horse hooves were heard outside the front door, and a hearse was seen going past, but when the witnesses went to the door to look, there was nothing there. 
Doors would be locked at night, and the resident dogs would refuse to go past one of the rooms and even refuse to enter. The door handles would be seen turning, and the noise of someone running their hand along the door panels had also been reported. 
Over the years, people walking their dogs around the area have reported their animals behaving strangely in certain areas, sometimes even freezing and cowering in fear. Others have reported a strange feeling or peculiar atmosphere around the pond area. 
In 2013, Christdeena Ellis was featured in an article in Kent Online claiming to have captured the ghost of a 17th/18th-century maid in the window of Shurland Hall while visiting the area and researching her book about Shurland Hall.which you can read about HERE
**HISTORY**
The Shurland Hall is a 16th-century gatehouse in Eastchurch. It is part of the service wing of a once important medieval house, constructed in the first half of the 16th Century.
In a Saxon Chronicle, it is said that in 893 AD, when the Danish Chief invaded, he fortified the Ancient Fort called Scipe on the site. It is also noted that in 1017, Cnut (Canute), son of Sweyn Forkbeard, visited the fort, and his father was given hostages of English nobility. According to an ancient document, Cnut the Great cut off their hands and noses at the castle. 
In 1066, William the Conqueror took over the area and gave the Isle of Sheppey to his barons. They built fortified manors in the area. Among them was Baron De Shurland, who took up residence in this Manor, and his family remained there for nearly 200 years. 
In the 13th Century, Adam De Shurland (1200-1262) established a stone castle from Chilham Castle. It was called the Scripe and, like the other buildings, was built for defence purposes. 
A curious legend surrounds Sir Robert De Shurland, Grandson of Adam, Son of Geoffrey (1230-1280). It is said that he killed a priest. He mounted on horseback, swam north of Sheppey, where the king's ship was anchored, and gained forgiveness. On his return, he met an elder woman who predicted that the horse that had helped save his life would be the cause of his death. To try and defy the prophecy, Sir Robert killed his horse. Still, later, when he encountered its bones, he kicked them in scorn, only for a shard to pierce his foot, causing an infection from which he died in 1310. This legend was published in 1837 by Richard Barham ("Thomas Ingoldsby") as one of his Ingoldsby Legends.
His heir was a daughter, Margaret (1281 - 1308) who married the son of Alexander Cheyne (1248 - 1295) of Patrixbourne, William (1275 - 1321) who was drawn and executed by hanging in London on 21st March 1321 by King Edward II for rebellion.
The Scripe Castle was eventually in the hands of William's Cheyne ( 1443 -1487) the Constable of Queenborough Castle, father of Sir Thomas Cheyne, (1485 – 1558) Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports  Upon his death, the manor of Eastbridge, including the Castle was going to be inherited by William's son and heir Francis Cheyne, (b.1483)  but it was in the possession of William's Brother, Baron John Cheyne, until his death without issue in 1499. It then went to Baron Cheyne's heir, his brother, Robert Cheyne, who died without issue in 1503. At that time, Francis Cheyne wrongfully took possession of their lands in Berkshire and Kent, which, by an earlier settlement, should have passed to John, son of his uncle Roger Cheyne (1452 - 1499). Francis Cheyne died without issue in January 1512, and Sir Thomas Cheyne, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, succeeded in finally inheriting his father William's Manor.
Sir Thomas Cheyne then built what is now called Shurlands Hall. It was made of fine red brick with stone dressings. 
Sir Thomas was a prominent courtier, landowner, and Knight of the Garter. The hall, built with octagonal towers and battlements, was a Regal place. 
In October 1532, he hosted Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn (a distant relative), and Anne is said to have stayed there at some point, too. In 1570, Sir Henry Cheyne (Sir Thomas's son) left the hall to live with his mother, and the area was sold off. He sold the hall to Queen Elizabeth I, but it then fell into disrepair. 
In 1580, Queen Elizabeth I granted a lease to a farmer in return for him converting ten of the outer chambers into tenements. These were to be filled with able-bodied men to serve with Cavalier, Pike, and Bow, as well as other forms of weaponry, to add some protection for the island. The rest of the structure was to be used for his family and for other decent, honest persons to dwell.
In 1593, the Manor was granted to Sir Thomas Hoby and his son Edward. Upon the expiry of his lease, James I granted the estate to Sir Philip Herbert, also making him a Baron. 
In 1650, still in the hands of the Herbert family, Shurland's Hall was partially destroyed under Cromwell's orders. The gatehouse and reception hall were the only things left habitable. 
In 1704, the two daughters of Henry Herbert inherited the residence.
It had been altered in  the 18th Century (when large sash windows were inserted) 
In 1840, it was the residence of Robert Holford, the Equerry to King Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales, and some restoration work was done on what remained during the 19th Century.
A newspaper article in Sheerness Guardian and East Kent Advertiser - Saturday 15 March 1862, the Eastchurch Cricket club held a dinner at the Crooked Billet to give thanks to Mr A Pratt Esq of Shurland Hall. He had loaned them the grounds of the hall for them to play their cricket.
The Isle of Sheppey was the cradle of aviation in Britain. In 1909, the Short brothers built the country's first aircraft factory on Sheppey. Aviation pioneer John William Dunne took off in his flying wing at an airstrip in Eastchurch. Winston Churchill learned to fly there in 1913.
In WWI, Shurland was commandeered by the fledgling Royal Naval Air Service (the forerunner to the RAF) and again by RAF gunnery staff during the Second World War. With soldiers billeted at Shurlands Hall, this led to further damage to the property.
After the war, it became a private residence again until 1930. Then, it was used to store cattle fodder and Farm implements. Vandals destroyed it, taking the lead from the roof and removing the stained glass windows. Along with the elements, it was left to ruin.
It was granted a Grade II listing in 1952 and became a Scheduled Monument in 1975.
It was planned to open part to the public, while the rest would be used as a private residence. In 1996, special scaffolding was put up, and all that was left standing was the shell of the gatehouse and the ruins of the main hall.
In 2006, the Spitalfields Trust bought it, and renovations were done to repair the Facade and erect new chimneys.
It returned to private residence again in 2011 and was bought by Daniel O'Donoghue and his wife Suzanne, who helped design the rooms.
It now boasts four reception rooms, five bedrooms, and three bathrooms. The brass plaques in the hall's kitchen are the remains of telephones used to connect to the guns during their wartime use. Next to the house stands a large barn of nearly 4,000 sq ft, which the couple fully restored and now has a kitchen, bar, and lavatory. 
In 2018, the O'Donoghues decided to look for somewhere smaller, and it was put on the market for £2,500,000