The History of Cupola House
Cupola House is made up of two sections, the oldest part was built in 1697 and over the
years was a butchers and bakers. The original baker’s oven is still here today.
The original dwelling was called “Lunts” and was not named “Cupola House” (pronounced Cu-Po-La) until
1803 when Thomas Browning built the extension three storey Georgian house and named
the house after the cupola on the roof. His initials are within the brickwork at the front of
the house.
The original cupola was subsequently removed in the early 1900’s, due to poor condition. The current owners reinstated the existing Cupola in 2007.
Thomas Browning was an oyster merchant and rumour has it the Georgian house was built on smuggling money and the cupola was included to watch out for the excise men on the sea wall and to signal to the smugglers.
Smuggling in Paglesham was rife in those days! Large cellars were built at Cupola House and in one of the garden walls there is a large cavity, possibly to hide smuggled goods. A pair of duelling pistols has been rumoured to have been found in the past.
The front door is the original and the knocker is a beautifully fully preserved brass oyster shell,
which rumour has it, has to remain shiny for prosperity!
Thomas Browning’s Great Grand Daughter Alice, married Zachary Pettit who was also an
oyster merchant and was a benefactor to the village. Zachary donated the Mission Hall which is across the road to Cupola House in 1893 for the cost of £200 and still here today and is regularly used to host village events.
Lots of families have lived in Lunts / Cupola House over the years and there is a recorded list of every family from 1697 to the present day.
Rosemary Boardman’s parents (later became Rosemary Roberts) came to live in Cupola House in 1930 who farmed Lunts Farm, then around 30 acres. They rented the property from the Hutleys who were descendants of Zachary Pettit. The Boardman family lived in Cupola House until 1973.
The first PVPA Paglesham Show took place in 1946 within the gardens of Cupola House, and Alan Boardman became Chairman.
Rosemary became interested in Paglesham history and as a young teenager she found in a high cupboard in the cellar, diaries of Alice Browning / Pettit which told the day-to-day life of Paglesham of over 100 years ago. This inspired Rosemary to start writing her history books on Paglesham.
When Mr Boardman died, the property was sold by the Hutleys with the farm land being sold off, leaving a hectare (2.5 acres) of gardens which were sold with the house.
The house remained empty for a few years following a fire in 1975 which demolished the kitchen area and stayed derelict until the Zabell family purchased it in 1976, restored it and remained living there until 2004 when it was purchased by the current owners.
