CHIDDINGSTONE CASTLE
Compared with the perfect grandeur of Penshurst Place, or the Tudor gem at Hever, Chiddingstone Castle is a disappointment. It was, until the middle of the 19th century, High Street House - the home of the Streatfeild family.
If an Englishman's home is his castle then this is sadly neither a castle nor a home. The National Trust in its early vigour snapped up what remained of the genuine Tudor village but in its maturer years balked at the offer of the original mansion that had been "improved" by castellation. It is now owned by a charitable Trust set up by Denys Bower, the last owner of the Castle who died in 1977.
The building is crammed with an astonishing collection of Japanese armour, Egyptian artefacts, Jacobite memorabilia and other extraordinary curios. Members of the public can now be married there . The artificial lake, created through destroying ten dwellings on the original High Street, now offers facilities for amateur anglers (tickets can be obtained on application at the Castle)
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