Godmersham Park is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

house in

Godmersham Godmersham is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village straddles the Great Stour river where it cuts through the North Downs and its land is approximately one third woodland, all in the far east and west ...

in the

English county The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpo ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. The house is on the edge of the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...

between Ashford and

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. It has associations with the writer

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

, and is depicted on the new

Bank of England £10 note The Bank of England £10 note, also known informally as a tenner, is a sterling banknote A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by ...

issued in 2017. It is now home to the

Association of British Dispensing Opticians The Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) is the main professional association for opticians in the UK. History ABDO was formed in 1986 from the merger of the Association of Dispensing Opticians and the Faculty of Dispensing Optici ...

Description

Godmersham Park is a two-storey house in the

Palladian style Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

. Built of red brick, the main block is of seven bays, the central three being recessed. The north front is of Thomas May's time, while the south facade was constructed by Walter Sarel for the Trittons in the 1930s, in a complementary style. During this reconstruction, Sarel also turned the bricks on the north front, which had been painted in the 19th century, to restore the original 18th century appearance. The two wings post-date May's frontage, being of the late 18th century. The roof is of slate with a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

, and the house is of two storeys, with cellars and attics. The interior contains two rooms which retain the original decorative schemes from May's time, the drawing room and the hall. The rest date from Sarel's remodelling. Both of May's rooms are embellished with ornate

plasterwork Plasterwork is construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior or exterior wall structure, or plaster Molding (decorative), decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called parge ...

, the hall also having a chimneypiece by

John Michael Rysbrack Johannes Michel or John Michael Rysbrack, original name Jan Michiel Rijsbrack, often referred to simply as Michael Rysbrack (24 June 1694 – 8 January 1770), was an 18th-century Flemish sculptor, who spent most of his career in England where h ...

History

Godmersham Park was built in 1732 for

Thomas May Thomas May (1594/95 – 13 November 1650) was an English poet, dramatist and historian of the Renaissance era. Early life and career until 1630 May was born in Mayfield, Sussex, the son of Sir Thomas May, a minor courtier. He matriculated a ...

, replacing an earlier Elizabethan house, Ford House, owned by the Brodnax family. In 1742, by which time May had changed his name to Knight, he enclosed a park around the estate, which was then known as Ford Park. The wings were added in 1780. Knight died in 1781 and the estate was inherited by his son

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

. Following his death in 1794, the house was inherited by Edward Austen, brother of

. He was a distant cousin of the Knights and had been adopted by them in the early 1780s. Following the death of his adoptive mother Catherine in 1812, Austen changed his name to Knight. Jane Austen was a regular visitor between 1798 and 1813. ''

Mansfield Park ''Mansfield Park'' is the third published novel by the English author Jane Austen, first published in 1814 by Thomas Egerton (publisher), Thomas Egerton. A second edition was published in 1816 by John Murray (publishing house), John Murray, st ...

'' is said to be based on Godmersham Park. In 1852, the property passed to Knight's son, Edward Knight. He remodelled the south front to designs by

William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival, often referred ...

before selling it to John Cunliffe Lister Kay in 1874,(later the Burn additions were swept away in the 1930s by Robert Tritton). During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, an

airship An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...

was stationed at Godmersham Park, which served as a sub-station of

RNAS Capel RNAS Capel (later RAF Folkestone) was a First World War airship station near Folkestone, Kent. History When Germany declared in February 1915 that it would commence unrestricted submarine warfare, the Royal Navy responded with the building of a ...

. Godmersham Park passed to John Cunliffe Lister, 3rd Baron Masham, who sold it in 1921 to

William Legge, 6th Earl of Dartmouth William Heneage Legge, 6th Earl of Dartmouth, (6 May 1851 – 11 March 1936), styled Viscount Lewisham between 1853 and 1891, was a British Peerage, British peer and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. He served as Vice-Chamberla ...

. In 1935, Godmersham Park was sold to Mr and Mrs Robert Tritton, who restored the house. Walter Sarel remodelled the building, much of the interior being replaced using genuine eighteenth-century features recovered from buildings across England. Norah Lindsay advised on restoration of the walled gardens. The house became a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in 1952, and the gardens were separately listed in Grade II* in 1986, with other garden features listed as Grade II. Robert Tritton died in 1957. Following the death of Elsie Tritton in 1983, the contents of the house were sold by Christie, Manson & Wood and Godmersham Park was sold to John Bernard Sunley. The estate management company Sunley Farms Limited, which is 100% owned by Sunciera Holdings Corporation in Panama, is the owner of Godmersham Park. In 2001, Godmersham Park became the home of the

, in which capacity it is used as a training college. The Godmersham Park Heritage Centre contains information and artifacts relating to the Godmersham Park Estate, as well as the parishes of Godmersham and Crundale. File:Godmersham (1779).jpg, 1779, in the time of Edward Austen File:Neale(1826) p3.062 - Godmersham Park, Kent.jpg, 1826 File:Front Facade of Godmersham Park - geograph.org.uk - 1490002.jpg, 2009

In fiction

Gill Hornby's 2022 novel ''Godmersham Park'' is based on events at the house while it was occupied by the Austen family.

References

{{reflist, 20em Houses completed in 1732 Grade I listed houses in Kent Austen family