Chiddingstone Castle

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Chiddingstone Castle

Chiddingstone Castle is a castle in the village of Chiddingstone near Edenbridge in the English county of Kent . It is 35 miles south of London on the upper reaches of the River Medway . The castle itself dates from the beginning of the 19th century, but includes elements of earlier buildings on the same property. From the beginning of the 16th century to the end of the 19th century the estate was the seat of the Streatfeild family . The castle and its 140,000 m² property have been in fiduciary management for the state through the Denys Eyre Bower Bequest since 1977 . The palace and gardens are open to the public.

history

High street house

The first noteworthy building on the property of today's castle was a wooden half-timbered house , in which Richard Streatfeild , an ironworks owner and wool merchant, lived from the beginning of the 16th century . Little has been left of this first house because Henry Streatfeild (1639–1719) replaced it in 1679 with a brick house in the Carolinian style . The building was called the High Street House or High Street Mansion because its front faced the village's high street . The realignment of the property in the 19th century led to today's diversion of the road through the village.

Chiddingstone Castle

In the early 19th century, Henry Streatfeild (1757–1829), the son of Henry Streatfeild (1706–1762) and Lady Anne Sidney , commissioned the architect William Atkinson to rebuild the house in a neo-Gothic style , but Atkinson's plans were never completed. 1835 commissioned Streatfeild's son, another Henry Streatfeild (1784-1852), the architect Henry Kendal , with further work. Even though the Streadfeilds owned the house now called Chiddingstone Castle until it was sold to Lord Astor in 1938, the family no longer lived there after 1900. During the Second World War , members of the Canadian armed forces were housed in the castle , after which the Long Dene School was billeted until 1954 .

Denys Eyre Bower

In 1955, Denys Eyre Bower , a former bank clerk and antique dealer, bought the castle to display his collections. Born in the village of Crich , Derbyshire , Bower began collecting at a young age. At first he worked as a bank clerk and took over 1943 the antique shop Cavendish Hood in Baker Street in London. The redesign of Baker Street prompted Bower to move to Chiddingstone Castle, where he wanted to open his collections to the public. But in 1957, Bower was sentenced to life imprisonment for attempted murder of his girlfriend and attempted suicide. In 1962 he was released after the successful attempt of his solicitor Ruth Eldridge to prove a miscarriage of justice, and returned to Chiddingstone Castle, which he kept open to the public with the help of Ruth Eldridge and her sister Mary until his death in 1977.

today

Bower left the castle and its collections to the state, whereupon Denys Eyre Bower Bequest was founded after his death . This trustee takes care of the castle and collections, keeps them open to the public and offers the castle as a venue for weddings. Descendants of the Streatfeild family are among the current trustees . English Heritage has the castle as a historical building II *. The property, which includes other historic buildings such as an orangery , is listed on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens .

Collections

Japanese collection

Bower's decision to collect objects from Japan was inspired by his father's interest in Chinese porcelain . The collection of lacquerware is the most important collection of its kind in private hands. The exhibits in the castle also include swords , armor and Haniwa figures.

Ancient Egyptian Collection

The ancient Egyptian collection covers the entire history of this civilization and contains both grave goods , such as shabti figures and amulets , as well as objects of everyday life, such as eating and drinking vessels. In 2013 pieces from the collection were loaned to the Houston Museum of Natural Science for exhibition in the ancient Egyptian hall there.

Collection of the House of Stuart and the Jacobites

As for British history, Bower was most interested in the House of Stuart and the Jacobites . He was a member of the Royal Stuart Society . His collection in this direction includes portraits of members of the House of Stuart, swords, objects with hidden Jacobite symbols and royal manuscripts.

Buddhist collection

As with his other collecting fields, Bower's interest in Buddhist objects was determined by personal preference. Bower was a Buddhist. However, the collection does not focus on any particular branch of Buddhism or on any particular country. Current exhibits include thangkas and images of Buddha .

Local history exhibitions

In addition to Bower's collections, there are still a number of original pieces in the 19th century castle kitchen, such as B. three cake ovens. There is also a collection of kitchen utensils and an ice chest on display. The ice box is reminiscent of the castle's former ice house . There is also a lounge for the servants and a servant's bedroom.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Trustees of the Denys Eyre Bower Bequest (editor): Chiddingstone Castle: A Treasure in the Garden of England . Chapter: A Treasure in the Garden of England: An Introduction to the History of Chiddingstone Castle . P. 2.
  2. ↑ a b c English Heritage : 1000399 - The National Heritage List for England . Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  3. ↑ The Trustees of the Denys Eyre Bower Bequest (editor): Chiddingstone Castle: A Treasure in the Garden of England . Chapter: A Treasure in the Garden of England: An Introduction to the History of Chiddingstone Castle . Pp. 2-3.
  4. ↑ Chiddingstone Castle: Chiddingstone Castle . Retrieved on February 17, 2016.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.chiddingstonecastle.org.uk
  5. ↑ The Trustees of the Denys Eyre Bower Bequest (editor): Chiddingstone Castle: A Treasure in the Garden of England . Chapter: A Treasure in the Garden of England: An Introduction to the History of Chiddingstone Castle . P. 4.
  6. ↑ Mary Eldridge: Beyond Belief . Stoney Litho, 1996. p. 3.
  7. ↑ Mary Eldridge: Beyond Belief . Stoney Litho, 1996. p. 7.
  8. ↑ The Trustees of the Denys Eyre Bower Bequest (editor): Chiddingstone Castle: A Treasure in the Garden of England . Chapter: A Treasure in the Garden of England: An Introduction to the History of Chiddingstone Castle . P. 6.
  9. ↑ English Heritage : 1252483 - The National Heritage List for England . Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  10. ^ A b Chiddingstone Castle: The Japanese Collection . Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  11. ^ Allan Turner: Museum to bring Egyptian exhibit out of the shadows (fee required) In: Houston Chronicle . February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  12. ^ Chiddingstone Castle: The Royal Stuart and Jacobite Collections . Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  13. ^ Sarah Mahood: The Buddhist Collection in The Trustees of the Denys Eyre Bower Bequest (editor): Chiddingstone Castle: A Treasure in the Garden of England . P. 14.

Web links

Commons : Chiddingstone Castle  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 51 ° 11 ′ 8.9 ″  N , 0 ° 8 ′ 32.6 ″  E