Visitor Information

Chiddingstone Castle is 5 miles from Edenbridge in Kent, between the two more famous historic attractions of the area, Hever Castle and Penshurst Place.

Travelling by car, without a sat nav, we found it best to follow the signs to nearby Hever Castle on the major roads. As we got nearer, on the B2027, we followed the Chiddingstone signs.

If you have a sat nav, you will need the postcode TN8 7AD.

They are open Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from Easter until the last Sunday of September. Information about additional open days can be found in the What’s On Section of their website, which includes Halloween and Christmas events.

Prices are £6 adults, £4 children aged 5-13, under 5s are free. There are also family and season tickets.

History

Exhibition rooms in the current building cover its whole history.

The original Chiddingstone Castle was built in the early 16th century.

The building now standing on the site was built in the 19th century to look like a medieval castle.

In 1955 an eccentric antiquary, Denys Bower (1905-1977), bought the building as a home for his varied collections, which he opened to the public.

His exhibits on show today include those from ancient Egypt, Japanese history, Jacobean times and a Buddhist collection.

My Observations

A guidebook was available for a reasonable £2.50, which you may want as a souvenir, but you don’t need it to appreciate the contents of the castle, as there is plenty of information in each room.

All the exhibits were on the ground floor.

I am far from a connoisseur of historical objects but these are the things that I found particularly interesting.

The Egyptian Exhibits – One of the smallest exhibits fascinated me the most in the Egyptian room. Judging from a mummy, they had exceedingly small cats. At the other end of the animal scale, I also spotted a fierce looking Nile crocodile, which fortunately was also dead. There are also many other non-animal artefacts.

The Japanese Exhibits – I found the armour fascinating, especially the one including a moustache. Weapons and lacquer are also displayed.

The Jacobean Paintings – These were mostly of the Stuart monarchs and their families, and I liked seeing physical traits that had been passed down the generations. Some family members had attractive qualities, but poor Charles II looked repulsive. I noticed that at least one unlucky descendant had that awful nose, but luckier ones have escaped the worst of his features.

The Buddhist Collection - Denys Bower was a Buddhist, and believed he was the reincarnation of Robert the Bruce, which explains his interest in Jacobean history.

The Grounds

After looking around the exhibitions in the house, I enjoyed strolling around the 35 acres of grounds. I think they are naturally beautiful with their woodland paths and fishing lake, but there are plans to develop them into a Japanese style garden walk. I hope to return to see the complete work.

You may also be interested in taking a look at the historic buildings in the National Trust village of Chiddingstone, such as the church, pub and Post Office, which are still in use.

Facilities

I found the men’s toilets exceptionally clean, and the missus tells me that the ladies were too, plus she had the added benefit of using their pump action hand cream after washing her hands. Disabled visitors are catered for.

There are Victorian Tearooms, which looked good, but we didn’t use them, as we had our own picnic.

I saw a children’s room in the castle, which includes facilities for doing their own artwork. I also saw dressing up clothes for them dotted around the relevant parts of the building.

The Castle has special event days, is licensed for weddings, and has facilities for school visits with activities to tie in with the National Curriculum.

Historical Houses Association

I went because I belong to the Historic Houses Association, and as a Friend I am entitled to free admission.

If you are interested in visiting historical buildings and their grounds around the UK, I strongly advise that you become a Friend of the Historical Houses Association, rather than pay a lot of individual entry fees. Single annual membership is £37, a couple is £60, with additional family members at the same address £18 each. If this sounds interesting to you, visit their website. http://www.hha.org.uk/metadot/index.pl

Alternative

Close to Chiddingstone Castle is Hever Castle, which also belongs to the HHA scheme, and which I would give the full 5 star rating to.

For non-HHA members Hever is double the price of Chiddingstone but provides a full day out for all the family.

Recommendation

Although I thought they were good, I personally wouldn’t be interested enough in the exhibits to pay the £6 adult admission charge for non-HHA members, but was glad I spent an interesting couple of hours there for free.

It depends how interested individuals are in the exhibitions, whether it will be worth the entry price to you.