Broome Park | |
---|---|
Type | House |
Location | Barham, Kent, England |
Coordinates | 51°11′25″N1°10′26″E / 51.1903°N 1.1738°E Coordinates: 51°11′25″N1°10′26″E / 51.1903°N 1.1738°E |
Built | 1635-1638, 18th century enlargement, 20th century remodelling |
Architectural style(s) | Jacobean |
Governing body | Privately owned |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Official name | Broome Park Hotel |
Designated | 29 September 1952 |
Reference no. | 1084927 |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Official name | The Steward's House, Broome Park Hotel |
Designated | 30 January 1967 |
Reference no. | 1111767 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Official name | Loggia, Attached Walls, Niches Containing Statues, Fountain, Stone Garden Ornaments, Statue and Urn in the Italian Garden to Broome Park Hotel |
Designated | 30 January 1967 |
Reference no. | 1336874 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Official name | The Stables of Broome Park Hotel |
Designated | 30 January 1967 |
Reference no. | 1337428 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Official name | Broome Cottage, Broome Park |
Designated | 14 March 1980 |
Reference no. | 1084928 |
Broome Park is a country house in Barham, within the City of Canterbury, Kent, England. It was built for Sir Basil Dixwell between 1635 and 1638. In the early 20th century it was the country home of Lord Kitchener of Khartoum until his death at sea in 1916. Now a country club, Broome Park is a Grade I listed building.
The house was built between 1635 and 1638. [1] Commissioned for Sir Basil Dixwell, 1st Baronet, who had been Member of Parliament for Hythe, it passed down through various generations of Dixwell baronets until it was inherited by Sir George Oxenden, 5th Baronet, [2] who took on his mother's surname of Dixwell. [3] It then passed down through various generations of Oxenden baronets to Sir Percy Dixwell Nowell Dixwell-Oxenden, 10th Baronet. [4]
In 1911 the estate was bought by Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, [5] Aged 61 and having been passed over for the position of Indian Viceroy Kitchener anticipated pending retirement in a country residence. "I have bought a house in Kent", he wrote. "It is rather a big place and will want a lot of doing up but as I have nothing else to do it will interest me enormously to make it a nice abode". [6]
Kitchener commissioned Detmar Blow (1867-1939) and Fernand Billerey to carry out a major remodelling and to create the formal gardens and a formal carriage approach. [7] Contractors involved included George P. Bankart, W. Bainbridge Reynolds ("sconces in silver copper"), Cowtan & Sons (wood panelling), Shanks (heaters) and Maples of London (panelling and a table design). [8] Because of the extensive work being carried out on the property and Kitchener's professional commitments as Sirdar in Egypt and subsequently Secretary of War in London, he only lived in Broome Park for brief periods: notably for six weeks while on home leave immediately prior to the outbreak of the First World War. [9] Full-time occupancy of the house was intended for his postponed retirement. [10] However between 1914 and 1916 Kitchener spent his limited spare time in what his aide-de-camp described as "the one relaxation which Lord Kitchener allows himself - the building of his house. It gives him such intense pleasure every Saturday when he comes down and sees the good work that has been done". [11]
Following Kitchener's death by drowning in June 1916, Broome Park passed to his nephew and heir Toby, Viscount Broome, who completed the required renovations before selling the property in 1928. [4]
In the early 1930s the estate was bought by Mr G C Jell who transformed the house into a country house hotel. [4] During the Second World War the estate was requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence, serving as a base for a Canadian armoured regiment at one stage. [4]
In or before 1979 the Park was acquired by Gulf Shipping, for the purposes of developing a timeshare and leisure complex. The development was the subject of litigation, which went to the UK Supreme Court in 2018. [12] Today Broome Park is a timeshare hotel and club house for a golf course. [13]
Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, was an Anglo-Irish senior British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his scorched earth policy against the Boers, his expansion of Lord Roberts' concentration camps during the Second Boer War and his central role in the early part of the First World War.
Oxon Hoath is a Grade II* listed Châteauesque-style former manor house with 73 acres of grounds at West Peckham, Kent. The spellings Oxenhoath, Oxen Hoath and Oxonhoath are common alternatives. The spelling Oxenholt was also used in the past. The manor is a former royal deer park. Oxon Hoath has been the seat of two baronetcies, and of five High Sheriffs of Kent. It has a surviving example of parterre gardens in its grounds.
Barham is a village and civil parish in the City of Canterbury district of Kent, England. Barham village is approximately 6 miles (10 km) south-east from Canterbury and 8 miles (13 km) north from Folkestone.
Sir Maurice Bonham-Carter was an English Liberal politician, civil servant and first-class cricketer. He was H. H. Asquith's Principal Private Secretary during Asquith's time as Prime Minister from 1910 to 1916 and later served in other government posts. He played cricket for Oxford University Cricket Club in the early 20th century. The actress Helena Bonham Carter is his granddaughter.
Sir Dudley Digges was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1610 and 1629. Digges was also a "Virginia adventurer," an investor who ventured his capital in the Virginia Company of London; his son Edward Digges would go on to be Governor of Virginia. Dudley Digges was responsible for the rebuilding of Chilham Castle, completed in around 1616.
Ashton Oxenden was Bishop of Montreal.
The Canterbury Heritage Museum was a museum in Stour Street, Canterbury, South East England, telling the history of the city. It was housed in the 12th-century Poor Priests' Hospital next to the River Stour. The museum exhibited the Canterbury Cross and contained a gallery dedicated to Rupert the Bear, whose creator Mary Tourtel lived in Canterbury. It held regular events and exhibitions of local and national interest. The museum closed in 2018. It has since re-opened as The Marlowe Kit; an escape room, exhibition and creative space.
There have been three baronetcies created for members of the Dixwell family, all of whom are descended from Charles Dixwell of Coton House, near Churchover, Warwickshire. All three baronetcies are extinct.
The Oxenden Baronetcy, of Dene in the County of Kent, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 6 May 1678 for Sir Henry Oxenden, previously Member of Parliament for Winchelsea, Kent and Sandwich. The second Baronet sat as Member of Parliament for Sandwich and Kent. His younger brother, the third Baronet, was Deputy Governor of Bombay. The fourth Baronet was the son of George Oxenden, Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, who was the third son of the 1st Baronet. He was Member of Parliament for Sandwich for over thirty years. The sixth Baronet inherited the Kentish estate of the Dixwell baronets at Broome Park which became the family seat. The title became extinct on the death of the tenth Baronet in 1924.
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Sir Henry Oxenden, 4th Baronet was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1713 to 1720.
Sir George Oxenden, 5th Baronet was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1720 to 1754.
Sir Henry Oxenden, 1st Baronet (1614–1686) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1645 and 1660.
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Graham Oxenden was an English first-class cricketer who played for Cambridge University in one match, totalling 0 runs with a highest score of 0.
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