Goodnestone Park
Encyclopedia
Goodnestone Park is a stately home and gardens near the Canterbury–Sandwich village, in the southern part of the village of Goodnestone, Dover
, Kent
. It is approximately 7 miles (11.3 km) from Canterbury
. The palladian house was built in 1704 by Brook Bridges, 1st Baronet. His grandson, Brook Bridges
' daughter, Elizabeth, married Jane Austen
's brother, and Austen visited them on the estate regularly. Goodnestone House is a Grade II* listed building, enlisted on 13 October 1952. The 15 acres (6.1 ha) gardens are considered to be amongst the finest in southeastern England.
. The young couple stayed at the house for several years before they bought a house in nearby Godmersham
and Jane was a regular guest at Goodnestone. It was after staying at Goodnestone House in 1796 that she began writing her novel Pride and Prejudice
, originally named First Impressions.
Not long after the house was built, extensive formal gardens developed around the house, the brainchild of William Harris. However, Brook Bridges, 3rd Baronet replaced the gardens at the end of the 18th century with a landscape park and made several alterations to the house. In the 1840s, Sir Brook Bridges, 5th Baronet made alterations to the house, adding a grand portico
and a new approach drive with a series of terraced lawns with central flights of steps. He terraced the lawns and built a wall between the house and the park.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Emmy FitzWalter, Brook FitzWalter's aunt, developed the gardens, adding a woodland garden with its rockwork and pool amongst other features. However, during World War II
the house was used by the British army and by 1955 the gardens had fallen into an unkempt state. Adding to the degradation, in 1959, a fire destroyed the roof and upper two storeys of the house which took a whole 18 months to restore. Lord FitzWalter's agent had advised him to opt for a modern house but the FitzWalters were adamant that is was restored to its former glory. It wasn't until the mid 1960s that Margaret FitzWalter restored the gardens.
and R.C. Hussey
and by Sir Brook Bridges, 5th Baronet. The house has nine bays, the central 5th bay projecting with pediment. On the top floor are nine half-sized glazing bar sashes on top floor, and 6 full sized on the first and ground floors. The grand porch features Greek Doric columns, with solid side walls, adding during the development phase in the early 1840s. The original entrance to the house was on its eastern side. The eastern side also features 9 bays with glazing bar sashes and heavy stone surrounds with the protruding central 5th bay emblazoned with arms of Sir Brook Bridges in 1842. To the northern side there are 2 storeys with an attic with plinth, plat band and parapet to hipped roof, with 3 pedimented dormers and rear stack. On both the northern and southern side of the house is a large pilaster strip buttress and shallow canted bay.
string, enriched brackets, paired balusters. They are alternately fluted and feature column-type balusters on half-landings, with a swept and ramped handrail and dado panelling. The 3 eastern rooms of the property are believed to have been furnished by Robert Mylne
around 1770 with a central oval entrance hall with niches.
The park is famous for its sprawling gardens which covers an area of approximately 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) around the house. The gardens are considered to be one of the finest in the southeast of England. It is one of only three gardens in Kent to be awarded the prestigious two stars in the Good Garden Guide. In a survey conducted by The Daily Telegraph
it was voted Britain's sixth favourite garden in and was a finalist in the 2009 Country Life Awards. The box parterre in the garden was planted to celebrate the millennium and the gravel garden was planted in 2003. Beyond this is a Golden Arboretum which planted in 2001 to commemorate the Golden Wedding of Lord and Lady FitzWalter. The walled garden contains rose
s, wisteria
, clematis
, jasmine
and a water feature. Fruit, vegetables and herbs grow in the kitchen garden and there is also an ornamental greenhouse.
The soil is slightly alkaline over chalk, typical of the North Downs. More acidic greensand in the woodland garden permits the growth of rhododendrons and other ericaceous plants. Today the gardens are maintained by Paul Bagshaw and three female gardeners. The gardens are open to the public from late March to early October, and on Sundays from mid-February.
Goodnestone, Dover
Goodnestone is a village in the district of Dover, Kent, England.-Goodnestone Park near Sandwich:Goodnestone Park is a stately home near the Canterbury–Sandwich village. It was built in 1704 by Brook Bridges, 1st Baronet....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. It is approximately 7 miles (11.3 km) from Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
. The palladian house was built in 1704 by Brook Bridges, 1st Baronet. His grandson, Brook Bridges
Sir Brook Bridges, 3rd Baronet
Sir Brook William Bridges, 3rd Baronet was a British baronet and Whig politician.Born posthumously at Whitehall, he was the only son of Sir Brook Bridges, 2nd Baronet and his wife Anne Palmer, daughter of Sir Thomas Palmer, 4th Baronet, of Wingham. With his birth he succeeded his father as baronet...
' daughter, Elizabeth, married Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's brother, and Austen visited them on the estate regularly. Goodnestone House is a Grade II* listed building, enlisted on 13 October 1952. The 15 acres (6.1 ha) gardens are considered to be amongst the finest in southeastern England.
History
Although the modern day Goodnestone House was built in 1704 by Brook Bridges, 1st Baronet, the estate was occupied during Tudor times. In 1560, Sir Thomas Engeham purchased the estate and lived in a manor house on the property. The manor was later abandoned by his descendants during the reign of Queen Anne of England and the estate was sold to the Bridges family who had departed from their previous property at Grove House in Fulham, Middlesex. Brook Bridges, 1st Baronet evidently demolished the original manor and ordered the construction of a new palladian house. The date of the house is etched onto a brick on the main front. Sir Brook Bridges, 3rd Baronet (the grandson of Brook Bridges, 1st Baronet) married Fanny Fowler and had a daughter, Elizabeth, who married Edward Austen, brother of the famous author Jane AustenJane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
. The young couple stayed at the house for several years before they bought a house in nearby Godmersham
Godmersham
Godmersham is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is located on the Great Stour river where it cuts through the North Downs...
and Jane was a regular guest at Goodnestone. It was after staying at Goodnestone House in 1796 that she began writing her novel Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England...
, originally named First Impressions.
Not long after the house was built, extensive formal gardens developed around the house, the brainchild of William Harris. However, Brook Bridges, 3rd Baronet replaced the gardens at the end of the 18th century with a landscape park and made several alterations to the house. In the 1840s, Sir Brook Bridges, 5th Baronet made alterations to the house, adding a grand portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
and a new approach drive with a series of terraced lawns with central flights of steps. He terraced the lawns and built a wall between the house and the park.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Emmy FitzWalter, Brook FitzWalter's aunt, developed the gardens, adding a woodland garden with its rockwork and pool amongst other features. However, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the house was used by the British army and by 1955 the gardens had fallen into an unkempt state. Adding to the degradation, in 1959, a fire destroyed the roof and upper two storeys of the house which took a whole 18 months to restore. Lord FitzWalter's agent had advised him to opt for a modern house but the FitzWalters were adamant that is was restored to its former glory. It wasn't until the mid 1960s that Margaret FitzWalter restored the gardens.
Exterior
Goodnestone House is a Grade II* listed red and blue brick palladian house, enlisted on 13 October 1952. The original house was originally a two-storey building, built in 1704. However, significant alterations were made around 1790 when a 3rd floor was added with plinth, plat band and cornice to the hipped roof with stacks to left and to right. Between 1838 and 1844 further changes were made by the partnership of Thomas RickmanThomas Rickman
Thomas Rickman , was an English architect who was a major figure in the Gothic Revival.He was born at Maidenhead, Berkshire, into a large Quaker family, and avoided the medical career envisaged for him by his father, a grocer and druggist; he went into business for himself and married his first...
and R.C. Hussey
Richard Charles Hussey
Richard Charles Hussey, always referred to as R.C. Hussey, was a British architect. He was in partnership with Thomas Rickman from 1835, whose practice he assumed in 1838 with the latter's failing health. -Works:...
and by Sir Brook Bridges, 5th Baronet. The house has nine bays, the central 5th bay projecting with pediment. On the top floor are nine half-sized glazing bar sashes on top floor, and 6 full sized on the first and ground floors. The grand porch features Greek Doric columns, with solid side walls, adding during the development phase in the early 1840s. The original entrance to the house was on its eastern side. The eastern side also features 9 bays with glazing bar sashes and heavy stone surrounds with the protruding central 5th bay emblazoned with arms of Sir Brook Bridges in 1842. To the northern side there are 2 storeys with an attic with plinth, plat band and parapet to hipped roof, with 3 pedimented dormers and rear stack. On both the northern and southern side of the house is a large pilaster strip buttress and shallow canted bay.
Interior
Inside, Goodnestone House has a prominent main staircase located in the large hallway, with openstring, enriched brackets, paired balusters. They are alternately fluted and feature column-type balusters on half-landings, with a swept and ramped handrail and dado panelling. The 3 eastern rooms of the property are believed to have been furnished by Robert Mylne
Robert Mylne
Robert Mylne was a Scottish architect and civil engineer, particularly remembered for his design for Blackfriars Bridge in London. Born and raised in Edinburgh, he travelled to Europe as a young man, studying architecture in Rome under Piranesi...
around 1770 with a central oval entrance hall with niches.
Gardens
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
it was voted Britain's sixth favourite garden in and was a finalist in the 2009 Country Life Awards. The box parterre in the garden was planted to celebrate the millennium and the gravel garden was planted in 2003. Beyond this is a Golden Arboretum which planted in 2001 to commemorate the Golden Wedding of Lord and Lady FitzWalter. The walled garden contains rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
s, wisteria
Wisteria
Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and to China, Korea, and Japan. Aquarists refer to the species Hygrophila difformis, in the family Acanthaceae, as Water Wisteria...
, clematis
Clematis
Clematis is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners beginning with Clematis × jackmanii, a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars are being produced constantly. They are mainly of Chinese and Japanese...
, jasmine
Jasmine
Jasminum , commonly known as jasmines, is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family . It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World...
and a water feature. Fruit, vegetables and herbs grow in the kitchen garden and there is also an ornamental greenhouse.
The soil is slightly alkaline over chalk, typical of the North Downs. More acidic greensand in the woodland garden permits the growth of rhododendrons and other ericaceous plants. Today the gardens are maintained by Paul Bagshaw and three female gardeners. The gardens are open to the public from late March to early October, and on Sundays from mid-February.