Tours to Chartwell, Hever
and/or Leeds Castle, Penshurst Place, Knole
and Sissinghurst Castle Gardens
The Magical world of the Garden of England
Days out to the Garden of England, always leave
one with a special feeling of satisfaction because
not only is there a goodly density of stately
homes, houses and castles as well as historic,
charming pubs but the countryside is so
spellbindingly attractive and has a somewhat
private feel due to special
hedges and woods set amongst the rolling hills of
the South & North Downs. One cannot help
asking each and every time, why don't we come here
more often and when we are returning ? This is the
area that personifies the old traditional,
charming and quintessentially English atmosphere.
Rich in character, tranquil and one cannot
emphasise it enough somehow, personal. Its hard to
say exactly why ? Is it the narrow lanes, the
frequency of ancient and lovely timber framed pubs
that one finds as one wends ones way from one
fascinating historical point of interest to
another.
So where is the area of beauty, tranquillity and
interest in the British Isles ? Its set in around
the County of Kent between 30 and 50 miles South
and South East of London. Its not far away then ?
True, but unfortunately the London suburban sprawl
occupies most of that first thirty miles. Never
mind, the tedium of breaking out of London's 609
square mile Metropolitan Area is well worth the
effort.
The built up area of London extends beyond the
London boundary.
So what do we have here in this huge Garden area ?
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Chartwell
Churchill’s home, the place to find out about his
amazing life. One of the most popular and
captivating, delightful and appealing destinations
is Chartwell, Churchill's personal home that he
acquired in his wilderness years in the 1920s.
Wonderfully and imaginatively restored, expanded
and developed by him it is now carefully preserved
and sensitively presented to the Nation, indeed
the
appreciative world, by the National Trust. Did you
know just how multi talented Churchill was ? Well
you certainly will when you have been there with
Private Tours UK. The atmosphere is so alive with
the Great mans presence it would come as no
surprise if he made an appearance. Here is where
he entertained and where his artistic creativity
was allowed free flow.
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In 1947 , long before
The National Trust saw fit to save this shrine the
Nation, a group of friends bought Chartwell and
leased it back to Churchill at a nominal rent. Why
? , because Churchill had one great failing. As a
result of his extravagant life style he could not
afford to run his own miniature stately palace !
Those of you that want to come to Kent to see
wonderful Gardens will not be disappointed either.
So come here to experience not just a property and
Churchill's many chattels but also to see unusual
landscaped gardens, illustrating yet again
Churchill' s vivid imagination, there is even a
lake and a Rose Garden as well as Churchill's
paintings.
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Hever Castle
Nearby to Chartwell is this truly lovely moated
Manor House set in beautiful rose gardens and also
having a maze Ancestral home of Anne Boleyn. A
short and satisfying little drive, there is Hever
Castle offering another visit that you won't
regret. Once again it is possible to counter both
ancient and relatively recent historical interest
as Lord Astor, Churchill's friend, mentor and
painting partner owned this house long after the
Boleyns had gone. The Castle, really a fortified
Manor House with its own miniature moat is
cleverly presented in two parts with a Tudor
section and the Astor rooms, which like Chartwell
is preserved, just as this man and his family
would have occupied this fine residence. However
history is not for everyone and there is also a
large garden which has a wide range of features
including an Italianate garden, rose gardens and a
lake. Hever began as a country house built in the
13th century . The estate is now run as a
conference centre, but the castle is open to the
public and is particularly well known for its
mazes. The only original part of Hever Castle is
the gatehouse. In the castle there are exhibits
from differing historical eras, including
instruments of torture and a museum of the Kent
Yeomanry. There is a yew maze, planted in 1904, as
well as a more recent addition, a water maze,
which opened in 1987. It was used for the filming
of the The Other Boleyn Girl.
Also well worth visiting are :-
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Leeds Castle
Its reputation as romantic Ladies Castle is well
founded and much aided by the fact that it is
still to this day fully moated.
Thought of as one of England's most Romantic
scenes and a Castle usually associated with Queens
and finally a very fine lady. One has to visit to
appreciate why this is so. It's yet another
beautiful site to visit ; a Castle with a
substantial Moat set in wonderfully landscaped
grounds. Its one of many castles once owned by and
developed by our monarchs that were finally
acquired by, developed by and then used by
aristocrats. Leeds Castle was firstly owned by
William the Bastards half Brother Bishop Odo who
was not only a clergyman but also the Earl of
Kent. The origins of today's Castle extend back to
Henry I but the Castle also became a Royal Palace
in 1278 in Edward 1st reign, very much with his
dearly loved wife Eleanor of Castile in mind. It
was at this time that there major improvements
including the Barbican ( an outer smaller
fortification guarding the entrance). Lady Ballie
was last owner of Leeds Castle in Kent
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Richard 11 also loved
this Castle and installed his wife Anne of Bohemia
there. Henry VIII also adored this castle and
installed one of his wives Catherine of Arogan,
there in the good years. Luckily the Castle
escaped destruction by Oliver Cromwell's army in
our Civil War as the owners at that time; the
Culpeper family were Parliamentary supporters.
Finally The Hon. Olive Lady a daughter of Almeric
Paget, 1st Baron of Queensborough and his wife
Pauline Payne Whitney, an American heiress, bought
the Castle in 1926 who then set about restoring
and beautifying to the way that you see it today.
The castle was opened to the public in 1976 and
has now passed into Medical Foundation Trust. The
Castle and grounds remain favourable for use with
security in mind even today and is therefore used
by the Government when this is an issue. In 1978
the Castle was the site for a meeting between the
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and the Israeli
Foreign minister Moshe Dyan. In 1999 Sir Elton
John played two sold out conferences here.
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Penshurst Place
Famous for its Hammer Beamed Baronial Hall.
Ancestral home of the Sidney family stretching
back to the Elizabethan era. Penshurst is another
delightful possibility within the Garden of
England area combining a stately Palace and home
with quite exquisite gardens.
Penshurst place is the ancestral home of the
Sidney Family who descendants still own it today.
Whilst being an impressive stately home starting
life in 1341 it is best known for and famed for
its Baronial Hammer beamed Hall. The house was
enlarged in 1552 when Henry VIII's son , Edward VI
granted the house to Sir William Sidney who had
been a courtier to the Kings Fathers. Sir
William's son, Henry married Lady Mary Dudley
whose family became implicated in the Lady Jane
Grey affair which was an attempt to usurp Mary I,
better known as Bloody Mary. Robert Sidney
inherited Penshurst after his brother, Philip died
prematurely from war wounds at the battle Zutphen
in 1586. The Sidney family inherited the Earldom
of Leicester and the Earl of Leicester is famed as
being Queen Elizabeth's favourite suitor
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Knole
Another gem in the Garden of England is the
amazing Calendar House of Knole with its 365
rooms, 52 Stair cases, 14 entrances and 7
courtyards and its 1,000 acre deer park. The house
starts life in 1456 and was used by various
Archbishops of Canterbury until in 1538 it was
taken from Thomas Cranmer by Henry VIII presumably
as another expression of his displeasure in regard
to the failure of his marriage with Anne Boleyn
and the Archbishops help in arranging the divorce
from Catherine of Arogan. In 1566 the house was
granted to Thomas Sackville whose descendants the
Dukes of Dorset and Barons Sackville have lived
here since 1603. Most notably these include the
writer Vita Sackville West.
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Sissinghurst Castle
Gardens
Lastly, but not least, on the possibilities and
list of beauties in the part of England known as
the Weald of Kent, is the creation of Vita
Sackville West in the 1930's. Now this really is a
garden lovers paradise rather than an historical
visit although there are interesting associations.
At one stage this "hurst" or Anglo Saxon Wood was
a 700 acre deer park owned by one of Henry VIII's
privy councillors who no doubt allowed his Lord
and Master to indulge his passion, hunting deer.
Over the centuries the buildings had many uses
including as a prisoner of war camp for French
prisoners during the European Seven Years war in
the 18th century. As far as we are concerned
though the estate was a labour of love by Vita
Sackville West whose gardens were a poignant and
romantic substitute for Knole which as the only
child of Lionel, the 3rd Lord Sackville she would
have inherited had she been male, but which had
passed to her Uncle as the male heir, is this why
she was Lesbian, I ask myself ?
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