Hemsted Park: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
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Line 7: ==History== [[File:Hemsted Park, Benenden.jpg|thumb|Hemsted Park c. 1870]] The park has a Roman settlement within its boundaries and is the junction two Roman roads – one from [[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]] and the other from [[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]] – and 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> 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 much other property in the 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/books?id=twwHAAAAQAAJ&lpg=PA340 Benenden] in ''England's topographer, or A new and complete history of the county of Kent'', pp.340–342. Oxford: Oxford University.</ref> In the late 14th century, [[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=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. Oxford: Oxford University. ([https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VikAAAAAQAAJ&vq=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. Retrieved 2017-12-02).</ref> 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=schoolhistory /> In 1718 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=ireland340 /><ref name=burke230 /> He was instrumental in landscaping the estate, forming much of the park as it is now.<ref name=schoolhistory /> The house was sold to Thomas Hallett Hodges, who was [[High Sheriff of Kent]] in 1786.<ref name=ireland340 /><ref name=burke230 /> He reduced the size of the hall and filled in the moat that had until that point encircled it and created the lake in the grounds.<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 />▼ ▲In 1718 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=ireland340 /><ref name=burke230 /> He was instrumental in landscaping the estate, enlarging the park and forming much of the [[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 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=he /><ref name=pg>[http://www.parksandgardens.org/places-and-people/site/1686?preview=1 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 The house, which featured a prominent tower and was described as having "alarming vitality" 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 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 /> | |||