BUILDINGS

THE BUILDINGS OF CHIDDINGSTONE

The parish of Chiddingstone is graced by a huge number of ancient buildings. In fact, over 70% of the structures in the parish are more than 200 years old. Neighbouring parishes have buildings that are more splendid and more famous - Penshurst Place, Hever Castle and Knole are good examples. Chiddingstone, on the other hand, is on a smaller and more private scale.

At the centre of the parish stands the Church – as it has done for a thousand years, though it has been rebuilt and repaired several times. Though not opulent, it has a fine collection of bells, memorials, hatchments and stained glass windows, all of which are documented here.

The three important country seats in the parish are Chiddingstone Castle in the centre, Stonewall Park to the south and Bore Place to the north. All three started out as Tudor houses but only one is still a family home (Stonewall Park). The others are now owned by trusts.

The village itself is owned by the National Trust. Outside the village are the farmhouses, which are the traditional bedrock of the parish economy. In this part of the web site each historic farmhouse is examined in turn with a list of known owners or tenants back to the 15 Century and aerial photographs of the property today. There is also a section on the parts of the parish where newer houses have been built such as Wellers Town, Chiddingstone Causeway, Chiddingstone Hoath and Bough Beech. Last, there are descriptions of the ‘lost houses’ of Chiddingstone - those that were pulled down, abandoned or even dismantled and taken to a museum