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{{Short description|Country estate and manor house in Kent, England}}

[[File:The main building at Benenden School behind the trees - geograph.org.uk - 878216.jpg|300px|thumb|Parkland at Hemsted Park with the main building of Benenden School beyond the trees]]

'''Hemsted Park''', historically sometimes known as '''Hempsted Park''',<ref name=kaschurch>[http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/MIs/MIsBenenden/01.htm Monumental Inscriptions of Benenden Church and Churchyard, from a book, published in 1889 by Rev Francis Haslewood, Rector of St Matthew's Church, Ipswich], Benenden, Kent Archaeological Society. Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref> is a {{convert|100|ha|acre}} former country estate and manor house north-west of the village of [[Benenden]] in the [[English county]] of [[Kent]]. It is the site of [[Benenden School]], an independent boarding school for girls. The school operates a commercial arts programme using the name Hemsted Park.

The park was the seat of the [[Guldeford baronets]] until 1718. Hemsted House, which stands in the grounds and is the main building of the school, is a 19th century house. It was built in an Elizabethan style in the early 1860s and remodelled at the beginning of the 20th century.

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==History==

[[File:Hemsted Park, Benenden.jpg|thumb|Hemsted Park painted in around 1870 by [[Alexander Francis Lydon]].]]

The park has a [[Roman Britain|Roman]] settlement within its boundaries and is at the junction of two [[Roman roads in Britannia|Roman roads]] – one from [[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]] and the other from [[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]].<ref name=caa05>[http://www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/19403/PP_SPG_Benenden_Iden_Green_CAA.pdf Benenden and Iben Green], Conservation Areas Appraisal, [[Tunbridge Wells Borough Council]], April 2005. Retrieved 2017-12-04.</ref> There are nearby [[Romano-British]] settlements.<ref name=paths>[https://www.highweald.org/downloads/publications/2043-field-systems-in-the-high-weald-case-study-report-benenden-south-by-footpath-march-2017/file.html Case study report: Benenden by footpath], High Weald AONB Unit Report, [[Historic England]]. March 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref><ref name=trails2>[http://www.benendenvillage.org.uk/trails/Benendentrails2.pdf Trail 2: The Old Manor House, Hemsted and The Ford], Historic landscape trails in Benenden, Benenden Amenity and Countryside Society. Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref> There is reference to the "dene of Hemsted" in a charter of 993 issued by [[Æthelred the Unready]],<ref name=milton92>Milton H (1992) ''Cricket Grounds of Kent'', pp. 31–32. Nottingham: [[The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians]]. ([https://archive.acscricket.com/cricket_grounds/kent_grounds/index.html Available online]. Retrieved 2022-04-04.)</ref> but the earliest available records show the land in the possession of [[Odo, Earl of Kent]], the man believed to have commissioned the [[Bayeux Tapestry]], having been given ~~it - amongst~~it―amongst much other property in the ~~county - by~~county―by his half-brother [[William the Conqueror]] after the [[Norman Conquest]].<ref name=schoolhistory>[http://www.benenden.kent.sch.uk/2309/overview/history-of-benenden "History of Benenden"], [[Benenden School]]. Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref> The first property on the site was a house built by Robert of Hemsted which is first recorded in 1216 and was moated in the 12th century.<ref name=paths /><ref name=ireland340>[[William Henry Ireland|Ireland WH]] (1829) [https://books.google.~~co.uk~~com/books?id=twwHAAAAQAAJ&~~lpg~~pg=PA340 Benenden] in ''England's topographer, or A new and complete history of the county of Kent'', pp.340–342. London: G Virtue.</ref>

In 1388, [[Richard II of England|Richard II]] granted the manor to William of Guldeford, the first of the [[Guldeford baronets]] of Hemsted who made changes to the original house.<ref name=caa05 /><ref name=ireland340 /><ref name=burke230>[[John Burke (genealogist)|Burke J]], [[Bernard Burke|Burke JB]] (1838) Guldeford of Hemsted, ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies of England'', pp.230–231. London: London: John Russell Smith. ([https://books.google.~~co.uk~~com/books?id=VikAAAAAQAAJ&vqq=hemsted&pg=PA233 Available online]. Retrieved 2017-12-02).</ref><ref name=kilburne>Kilburne R (1659) Benenden, in ''A topographie or survey of the county of Kent, London, 1659''. ([http://www.kentarchaeology.ac/TopographicalTradition/1659-kilburne.pdf Available online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318212812/http://www.kentarchaeology.ac/TopographicalTradition/1659-kilburne.pdf |date=2014-03-18 }}. Retrieved 2017-12-02).</ref> Richard Guldeford fought with [[King Henry VI]] at the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]] in 1485.<ref name=caa05 /> A [[Deer park (England)|deer park]] was [[enclosure|enclosed]] during the [[Tudor period]] to create an area of parkland.<ref name=paths /> [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth I]] visited Thomas Guldeford at the house and he was knighted by her at [[Rye, East Sussex|Rye]] a few days later.<ref name=caa05 /><ref name=schoolhistory /><ref name=has193>Haslewood Rev F (1889) Hemsted, in ''The Parish of Benenden, Kent'', pp.193–194. ([http://theweald.org/d10.asp?bookid=Ben193 Available online]). Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref>

In the early 18th century the property was sold to Admiral [[John Norris (Royal Navy officer)|Sir John Norris]], the commander-in-chief of [[George II of Great Britain|George II]]'s navy.<ref name=caa05 /><ref name=ireland340 /><ref name=burke230 /> He was instrumental in landscaping the estate, enlarging the park and forming much of the parkland as it is now.<ref name=paths /><ref name=schoolhistory /> The house was sold to Thomas Hallett Hodges, who was [[High Sheriff of Kent]] in 1786, in 1780.<ref name=ireland340 /><ref name=burke230 /><ref name=has194>Haslewood ''[[Op. cit.]]'', p.194.</ref><ref name=tlh>[http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/hodges-thomas-1776-1857 Hodges, Thomas Law (1776-1857), of Hemsted Place, Benenden, Kent], The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref> He reduced the size of the hall, removing two wings of the brick built house, one of which had two octagonal towers, filled in the moat that had until that point encircled it and created the lake in the grounds.<ref name=has194 /><ref name=he>[https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000195 Benenden country house], [[National Heritage List for England]], [[Historic England]]. Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref> Hodges' son, [[Thomas Law Hodges]] inherited the house in 1801 and began to develop the grounds of the park, planting trees across it.<ref name=he />

[[File:The main building at Benenden School - geograph.org.uk - 500073.jpg|thumb|The main building at Benenden School, dating from the 1860s]]

The [[Elizabethan architecture|Elizabethan property]] was demolished between 1860 and 1862 following the acquisition of the estate by [[Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook|Lord Cranbrook]] in 1857 after Hodges' death.<ref name=kaschurch /><ref name=he /><ref name=walford289>Walford E (1860) ''The county families of the United Kingdom; or, Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of Great Britain and Ireland.'', p.289. London: Robert Hardwicke.</ref> He commissioned the building of a new house, the basis of the current Hemsted House, employing [[David Brandon (architect)|David Brandon]], president of the [[Royal Institute of British Architects]] to design the new mansion which was built a little to the east of the original buildings. Traces of the original buildings and moat remain on the site. The grounds of the park were relandscaped during the same period by William Broderick Thomas and much of the village of [[Benenden]] was also remodelled at the same time.<ref name=caa05 /><ref name=he /><ref name=pg>[http://www.parksandgardens.org/places-and-people/site/1686/history Hemsted Park, (also known as Benenden School), Tunbridge Wells, England], Parks and Gardens. Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref> Landscaping included the creation of one of the first avenues of [[Japanese red cedar]] trees in the United Kingdom<ref name=pg /> and the area of Hemsted Forest, north of the park, was purchased by Cranbrook and became part of the park. The forest is now owned and managed by the [[Forestry Commission]].<ref name=trails1>[http://www.benendenvillage.org.uk/trails/Benendentrails1.pdf Trail 1: Goddards Green and Church Wood], Historic landscape trails in Benenden, Benenden Amenity and Countryside Society. Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref>

The house, which featured a prominent tower and was described as having "alarming vitality", was built in an Elizabethan style and was subsequently remodelled in 1912 by Herbert Cescinsky at the behest of its new owner, newspaper magnate and later Lord Rothermere, [[Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere|Harold Harmsworth]]. The remodelling saw the "vitality" toned down and the upper levels of the tower removed.<ref name=schoolhistory /> The main house itself, as well as a number of the out-building and lodges, are [[Listed building|Grade II listed buildings]].<ref name=he /><ref name=blbhouse>[https://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101085270-hemsted-house-benenden-school-including-attached-terrace-wall-benenden#.WiKSTLacZzg Hemsted House Benenden School Including Attached Terrace Wall], British ~~listed~~Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref> The grounds include a number of formal garden areas, as well as ornamental parkland and plantings of trees and a 19th century walled kitchen garden.<ref name=he /> Many of the trees in the park were lost during the [[Great Storm of 1987]].<ref name=pg />

Rothermere sold the Hemsted estate in 1924, dividing it up into lots, reducing the size of the estate itself from {{convert|2000|ha|acre}} to eventually cover around {{convert|119|ha|acre}}.<ref name=caa05 /><ref name=he /><ref name=pg /> The house itself was initially rented by [[Benenden School]] before being purchased the following year. The school was evacuated during [[World War II]] and the house used as a military hospital.<ref name=schoolhistory /> Buildings have been added to the school site throughout the time it has occupied the park.<ref name=schoolhistory /> In 2023, shortly after the opening of a purpose-built concert hall and music school on the site,<ref name=music>Weller C (2022) [https://www.kentonline.co.uk/tenterden/news/schools-new-concert-hall-can-be-used-by-community-274639/ Benenden headteacher unveils new music facilities 'for the community to use'], [[Kent Online]], 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2023-01-28.</ref> the school established a commercial arts programme using the brand name Hemsted Park.

==Cricket ground==

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| end1 =

| end2 =

| year1 = ~~1835~~1835–1843

| club1 = Benenden Cricket Club

| year2 = 1843

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| source = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/11/313.html CricketArchive

}}

A cricket pitch was laid out at Hemsted Park{{efn|[[CricInfo]] and CricketArchive both call the ground Hensted Park in their databases and place it at Benenden. Other sources, including [[Kent County Cricket Club]], Benenden Cricket Club and the contemporary report of the match in The Sporting Magazine, call the ground Hemsted (or Hempsted) Park. Given the geography it seems reasonable to assume that the database(s) used by CricInfo and CricketArchive have a transcription error and that the local and contemporary sources are more reliable}} during the early 19th century by the Hodges family and used for a number of "society matches".<ref name=bcc>[http://benendencc.play-cricket.com/website/news_articles/107768 A brief history of Benenden Cricket Club], Benenden Cricket Club, 2014-06-16. Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref> A match in 1835 between a team assembled by [[Thomas Twisden Hodges]] and one from [[Sheldwich|Sheldwich Lees]] representing [[Lewis Watson, 3rd Baron Sondes|Lord Sondes]] was watched by over 6,000 spectators<ref name=bcc /> and the ground was the home ground of Benenden Cricket Club, who were a significant side in Kent at the time, between 1835 and 1843.<ref name=~~milton~~milton92/><ref name=milton79>Milton H (1979) Kent cricket grounds, in ''The Cricket Statistician'', no.28, December 1979, pp.2–10.</ref> The ground

The only recorded [[first-class cricket]] match on the ground was in 1843, when [[Kent County Cricket Club]] played [[England national cricket team|an England side]] in a [[benefit match]] for [[Ned Wenman]].<ref name=bcc /><ref name=~~milton~~ milton79/><ref name=sm261>Kent against England, ''The Sporting magazine; or Monthly calendar of the transactions of the turf, the chace, and every other diversion interesting to the man of pleasure and enterprize'', 1843, p.264. ([https://books.google.~~co.uk~~com/books?id=8R0GAAAAQAAJ&vqq=hemsted&pg=PA261 Available online]. Retrieved 2017-12-02).</ref><ref name=cafc>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/11/313_f.html First-Class Matches played on Hensted Park], CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref> Wenman was born in [[Benenden]], worked as a wheelwright and was an amateur cricketer, being particularly noted as an excellent wicket-keeper.<ref name=cinw>Brown RJ [http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/22860.html Edward Wenman], ''[[The Cricketer]]'' at [[CricInfo]]. Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref><ref name=mills>Mills T (1983) [http://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketer/content/story/144223.html Runs in the family], ''[[The Cricketer]]'', at [[CricInfo]]. Retrieved 2017-12-02.</ref><ref name=knox16>Knox M (2015) ''The Keepers'', p.16. London: Penguin Books. ([https://books.google.~~co.uk~~com/books?id=Cw6hCgAAQBAJ&~~lpg~~pg=PT16 Available online]. Retrieved 2017-12-02).</ref> Wenman was about to retire from first-class cricket, although he later returned to the game and played until 1854.<ref name=cinw /> The match was hosted by the park owner [[Thomas Law Hodges]] who arranged a dinner after the match for "nearly 200 gentlemen".<ref name=sm261 />

The match was the third match of the season between Kent and England. Kent won, scoring 199 runs in their two innings whilst England scored 100 runs.<ref name=sm261 /> The occasion was described:

...every arrangement was made for the accommodation of the numerous visitors, several marquees and booths having been erected around the circle enclosed for the play

–''The Sporting Magazine'', 1843<ref name=sm261 />

</blockquote>

The match was the only time that Kent used the ground.<ref name=17annual210>Grounds Records in ''Kent County Cricket Club Annual 2017'', pp.210–211. Canterbury: [[Kent County Cricket Club]].</ref> It no longer exists as a cricket ground, having been removed during the re-landscaping of the park in the late 19th century, and the exact location of the ground within the park is unknown. Benenden Cricket Club returned to their ground on the village green after the 1843 match.<ref name=~~milton~~ milton79/>

==Notes==

==References==

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[[Category:Cricket grounds in Kent]]

[[Category:Defunct sports venues in Kent]]

[[Category:Country houses in Kent]]