Quebec House is the birthplace of General

James Wolfe Major-general James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of ...

on what is now known as Quebec Square in

Westerham Westerham is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 3.4 miles east of Oxted and 6 miles west of Sevenoaks, adjacent to the Kent border with both Greater London and Surrey. I ...

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 ...

, England. The house is listed Grade I on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

since September 1954. The house dates from the mid 16th century but much of the current appearance is from the 1630s. It was originally called Spiers but renamed in honour of Wolfe's death and victory at the Battle of Quebec in 1759. The house is now owned by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

and open to the public with paintings and memorabilia relating to Wolfe's life.

History

Originally called Spiers, the house was built between 1530 and 1550 as a timber-framed L-shaped building. It was altered in the 1630s, when the current exterior was added.

was the son of a distinguished general,

Edward Wolfe Lieutenant General Edward Wolfe (1685 – 26 March 1759) was a British army officer who saw action in the War of the Spanish Succession, 1715 Jacobite rebellion and the War of Jenkins' Ear. He is best known as the father of James Wolfe, famous f ...

who rented Spiers. Wolfe lived there from 1728 until 1738. The house was renamed after his victory at the Battle of Quebec. It was occupied in 1911 by Canadian author Henry Beckles Willson and his family. Joseph Bowles Learmont of Montreal acquired the house and presented it to the

in 1917.

Architecture and contents

The square brick building has two storeys and an attic with a tiled pitched roof. The three-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

front has three equal gables. There is a water pump by the back door which dates from 1792. A blue plaque along the outer brick wall marks the entrance of the Wolfe's home. Various pictures relating to the life of General Wolfe are displayed in the house. The purchase of two portraits were assisted by the

Art Fund Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as ...

. The house is surrounded by a garden stocked with plants which would have been available in the 18th century. The coach house has been converted into a tea room and bookshop with an exhibition on the battle and on Wolfe's life. The house itself contains memorabilia and paintings connected to him.

References

External links

* {{coord, 51.267160, N, 0.075900, E, type:landmark, display=title Houses completed in the 16th century Grade I listed houses in Kent National Trust properties in Kent Buildings and structures in Sevenoaks District History of Quebec City French and Indian War Historic house museums in Kent Military and war museums in England Biographical museums in Kent Westerham