Godmersham Park

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Godmersham Park
Photograph of Godmersham Park, showing the house in the mid distance.
Godmersham Park
Map
Alternative namesGodmersham Hall
General information
TypeHouse
Architectural styleGeorgian
ClassificationGrade I listed[1]
LocationGodmersham, Kent
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates51°13′14″N 0°57′01″E / 51.22056°N 0.95028°E / 51.22056; 0.95028
TR 0612 5100
Current tenantsAssociation of British Dispensing Opticians
Completed1732
Renovated1780, 1852, 1935
Height
RoofSlate
Technical details
MaterialBrick
Floor countTwo
Known forConnections to Jane Austen

Godmersham Park is a Grade I listed house in Godmersham, Kent, United Kingdom, on the edge of the North Downs between Ashford and Canterbury. The house has associations with the writer Jane Austen, and is depicted on the new Bank of England £10 note issued in 2017. It is now home to the Association of British Dispensing Opticians.

Description

Godmersham Park is a two-storey house built of brick, under a hipped slate roof containing an attic. The centre block is of seven bays, the middle three slightly recessed. Wings, joined to the main block by set-back two-storey links, extend to either side. Both are of five bays and two storeys on the north front. On the south front, one is of five bays and two storeys, the other is a single-storey, double-height orangery of three bays.[1]

The house was extensively altered during the 1935 restoration, with the bricks of the north front (which had been painted) being cut out and turned round so that their unpainted faces show.[1]

History

Godmersham Park was built in 1732 for Thomas May, 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.[2] The wings were added in 1780.[1] Knight died in 1781 and the estate was inherited by his son Thomas. Following his death in 1794, the house was inherited by Edward Austen, brother of Jane Austen.[2] He was a cousin of the Knights and had been adopted by them in the early 1780s.[3] Following the death of his adoptive mother Catherine in 1812, Austen changed his name to Knight.[4][5]

Jane Austen was a regular visitor between 1798 and 1813.[6] Mansfield Park is said to be based on Godmersham Park.[7] In 1852, the property passed to Knight's son. He remodelled the south front to designs by William Burn,[8] which were swept away in the 1930s by Robert Tritton. Godmersham Park was later sold to John Cunliffe Lister Kay, who died in 1917.[9][10] During the First World War, an airship was stationed at Godmersham Park, which served as a sub-station of RNAS Capel.[11]

Godmersham Park passed to John Cunliffe Lister, 3rd Baron Masham, who sold it in 1921 to William Legge, 6th Earl of Dartmouth.[9][10] In 1935, Godmersham Park was sold to Mr and Mrs Robert Tritton, who restored the house.[6] Walter Sarel remodelled the building, much of the interior being replaced using genuine eighteenth-century features recovered from buildings across England.[1] Norah Lindsay advised on restoration of the walled gardens.[6] The house became a Grade I listed building in 1952,[12] and the gardens were separately listed in Grade II* in 1986, with other garden features listed as Grade II.[9]

Robert Tritton died in 1957.[13] Following the death of Elsie Tritton in 1983,[7] Godmersham Park was sold to John Sunley. In 1992, it was leased to a commercial business.[9][14]

In 2001, Godmersham Park became the home of the Association of British Dispensing Opticians, in which capacity is used as a training college.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Monument details". Kent County Council. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b Hasted, Edward (1798). The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. Vol. Volume 7. Canterbury: W Bristow. pp. 319–32. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  3. ^ "Knight, Edward Austen". Adoption.com. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  4. ^ Burke, John (1836). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Enjoying Territorial Possessions or High Official Rank; but Uninvested with Heritable Honours. Vol. Volume 1. London: Henry Colbourn. p. 444. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  5. ^ Vic (7 October 2009). "Edward Austen Knight: A tightwad or a man with heavy responsibilities?". Jane Austen's World. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  6. ^ a b c "Godmersham Park, Canterbury, England". Parks and Gardens UK. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  7. ^ a b Norman, Geraldine (13 April 1983). "Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park" for sale". The Times. No. 61505. London. col C-F, p. 12. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
  8. ^ Colvin, Howard, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, s.v. "William Burn".
  9. ^ a b c d "Godmersham Park". Historic England. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Godmersham Park Sold". The Times. No. 42713. London. 6 June 1921. col D, p. 8. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
  11. ^ Lee, David W. (2010). Action Stations Revisited, Volume 3 South East England. Crecy Publishing Ltd. pp. 62–64. ISBN 978-0-85979-110-6.
  12. ^ "Godmersham Park". Historic England. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  13. ^ "Obituaries: Mr. Robert Tritton". The Times. No. 53753. London. 31 January 1957. col A, p. 13. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
  14. ^ "High Sheriffs". The Times. No. 66046. London. 13 November 1997. col G-H, p. 22. template uses deprecated parameter(s) (help)
  15. ^ "Godmersham Park. A brief history of the ABDO college". Association of British Dispensing Opticians. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
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