Somerhill House
| Somerhill | |
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Somerhill House, June 2006
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 Location of Somerhill within Kent
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| Former names | Somer Hill Summerhill Summer Hill |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Jacobean |
| Address | Somerhill, Tonbridge, Kent, TN11 0NJ |
| Town or city | Tudeley, Kent |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°10′59″N 0°18′00″E / 51.18306°N 0.30000°ECoordinates: 51°10′59″N 0°18′00″E / 51.18306°N 0.30000°E |
| Current tenants | The Schools at Somerhill |
| Construction started | 1611 |
| Completed | c1613 |
| Renovated | 1879–97, 1988–91 |
| Owner | The Schools at Somerhill Charitable Trust |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | Three |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | John Thorpe |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect | Fielden and Mawson (1988–91) |
| Renovating firm | R. Durtnell & Sons, Brasted (1988–91) |
Somerhill House is a Grade I listed Jacobean mansion situated near Tonbridge, Kent, United Kingdom. It was built for Richard de Burgh in 1611–13. The estate was sequestrated by Parliament in 1645, and restored to its rightful owner in 1660. The building had become derelict by the mid-eighteenth century but was later restored. Somerhill was painted by Turner in 1811. It was bought by a member of the Goldsmid family in 1849 and greatly extended between 1879 and 1897, making it the second largest house in Kent, after Knole House, Sevenoaks.
Somerhill housed a Prisoner of War camp, Prisoner of War Camp No. 40, during the Second World War, following which it became the home of the d'Avigdor-Goldsmids and was visited by many celebrities of the time. Somerhill was sold by the d'Avigdor-Goldsmids in 1980, and again went into decline, being damaged by vandalism and storms. In 1993, The Schools at Somerhill moved in, as of April 2017 the building is used as a school.
Somerhill House lies 1 1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) south of Tonbridge at grid reference TQ 6086 4510, in the civil parish of Tudeley-cum-Capel, which falls under Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.
Somerhill is built of sandstone. The stone also contains iron, which gives it a red colour. This stone is known as Calverley Stone. The house is in the shape of a letter "H", with the main hall forming the bar of the "H". The main elevation of the house faces west. The building is three storeys high, with a half-basement. It has five gables on the main elevation. The roof is of an A-frame construction, clad in Kentish peg tiles. The south wing houses the library, the second longest room in Kent at 93 feet (28 m) long, exceeded only by the Gallery at Knole House, Sevenoaks. The main staircase is in the south wing. The north wing housed service rooms and the kitchen, with a parlour at the rear.
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