Chiddingstone Castle
Chiddingstone Castle is situated in the village of Chiddingstone, near Edenbridge, Kent, England, 35 miles south of London and in the upper valley of the River Medway. The castle itself dates from the early 19th century, but incorporates elements of earlier buildings on the same site. From the early 16th century to the end of the 19th century it was the seat of the Streatfeild family. Since 1977, the castle and its 35 acres (140,000 m2) of grounds have been held in trust for the nation by the Denys Eyre Bower Bequest and both are open to the public.
The first significant building to occupy the site of the castle was a timber-framed dwelling, inhabited from the early 16th century by Richard Streatfeild, an iron master and wool merchant. Little remains of this first structure as, in 1679, Henry Streatfeild (1639-1719) had the house rebuilt in red brick in the Restoration style. The building was known as High Street House or High Street Mansion since it fronted the village high street. Remodelling of the house's grounds in the 19th century resulted in the current diversion of the road through the village.
In the early 19th century, Henry Streatfeild (1757-1829), the son of Henry Streatfeild (1706-1762) and Lady Anne Sidney, commissioned William Atkinson to rebuild the house in the Gothic style however Atkinson's design was not completed and, in 1835, Streatfeild's son, also Henry Streatfeild (1784-1852), engaged the architect Henry Kendal to carry out further work. Although the Streatfields owned the house, now renamed Chiddingstone Castle, until it was sold to Lord Astor in 1938, the family did not live there after 1900. During the Second World War, the castle hosted members of the Canadian Forces before becoming Long Dene School until 1954.
In 1955, the castle was purchased by Denys Eyre Bower (1905-1977), a former bank clerk and antiques dealer, in order to display his collections. Bower was born in Crich, Derbyshire and started collecting at a young age. Bower initially worked as a bank clerk before taking over Cavendish Hood antiques dealers in Baker Street, London in 1943. The redevelopment of Baker Street led to Bower moving to Chiddingstone Castle where he intended to show his collections to the public. However, in 1957 Bower was convicted of attempted murder of his girlfriend and attempted suicide and sentenced to life imprisonment. Released in 1962 after successful efforts by solicitor Ruth Eldridge to prove a miscarriage of justice, Bower returned to Chiddingstone Castle which, with the help of Eldridge and her sister Mary, he continued to open to visitors until his death in 1977.
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