Where Chiddingstone Castle in Kent is set in a 35-acre estate incorporating landscaped gardens, a lake and a Victorian orangery.
What The castle was the home of Denys Eyre Bower, a former bank clerk and antiques dealer, who purchased the 19th-century building in 1955 to display his collections of art and antiques. He hoped to repay his mortgage by charging visitors a half-crown admission, but not long after opening he was convicted for the attempted murder of his girlfriend and attempted suicide. He served six years of a life imprisonment until his solicitor had his conviction overturned. He then returned to live in the castle until his death in 1977.
The property and collection was bequeathed to the National Trust, which turned it down as it didn’t come with an endowment, so a private trust was created to preserve his collections in their setting for the enjoyment and education of future generations.
Opened Chiddingstone has been an Accredited museum since 2014.
Collection Maria Esain, the castle’s collections manager, says: “It is one of the most peculiar places you have ever been to. Imagine finding, in the middle of the countryside, a historic house filled with ancient Egyptian objects, samurai armour, gold and jewelled Buddhist shrines, Stuart relics, thousands of antique books – all amassed by one eccentric collector and displayed in his home.”
Highlights The castle has one of the best Japanese lacquer collections in the country, as well as an important ancient Egyptian collection.
It also has a collection of 1,000 propaganda pamphlets for and against the house of Stuart and the Jacobite pretenders.
“Denys was a very interesting person and quite eccentric as well,” Esain says. “He was a Buddhist and, according to his colleagues at the bank, he believed himself to be a reincarnation of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the young pretender to the throne.”
The castle’s Victorian kitchen and scullery, servants’ hall, drawing room and the original 1890 toilet are all also open to the public.
Visitors In 2014, the castle had 19,000 visitors, a 25% increase on the previous year. About 1,000 children also visited to take part in the castle’s learning programme, which includes handling sessions and study days for specialist groups.
Help in hand “We have eight permanent members of staff, four of whom are full-time, with an additional three who are only here during the open season of April to October,” says Esain. “We also have a team of 15 volunteers working in all areas including the collections, developing our group visits, tea room and garden.”
Budget Chiddingstone Castle’s primary source of income is through admissions and its events programme, which is complemented by secondary spend in the tearoom and gift shop. Another vital revenue stream is from weddings and private functions. “The castle will also be launching a Friends and patrons scheme later this year and we have already had some interest to become a patron, so fingers crossed.”
Survival tip “Renew yourself, reinvent yourself and be in touch both with the community and current times,” Esain says. The castle has had success through the introduction of a country fair, which now attracts 2,000 people and has brought
it closer to the farming community. Chiddingstone Castle also has an active presence on social media channels and is looking to develop an app.
Future prospects Esain says there are plenty of plans, including applying for Designated status, digitising parts of the collection and continuing to develop its permanent exhibition about the history of the building, its early inhabitants and the local area.
www.chiddingstonecastle.org.uk/
What The castle was the home of Denys Eyre Bower, a former bank clerk and antiques dealer, who purchased the 19th-century building in 1955 to display his collections of art and antiques. He hoped to repay his mortgage by charging visitors a half-crown admission, but not long after opening he was convicted for the attempted murder of his girlfriend and attempted suicide. He served six years of a life imprisonment until his solicitor had his conviction overturned. He then returned to live in the castle until his death in 1977.
The property and collection was bequeathed to the National Trust, which turned it down as it didn’t come with an endowment, so a private trust was created to preserve his collections in their setting for the enjoyment and education of future generations.
Opened Chiddingstone has been an Accredited museum since 2014.
Collection Maria Esain, the castle’s collections manager, says: “It is one of the most peculiar places you have ever been to. Imagine finding, in the middle of the countryside, a historic house filled with ancient Egyptian objects, samurai armour, gold and jewelled Buddhist shrines, Stuart relics, thousands of antique books – all amassed by one eccentric collector and displayed in his home.”
Highlights The castle has one of the best Japanese lacquer collections in the country, as well as an important ancient Egyptian collection.
It also has a collection of 1,000 propaganda pamphlets for and against the house of Stuart and the Jacobite pretenders.
“Denys was a very interesting person and quite eccentric as well,” Esain says. “He was a Buddhist and, according to his colleagues at the bank, he believed himself to be a reincarnation of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the young pretender to the throne.”
The castle’s Victorian kitchen and scullery, servants’ hall, drawing room and the original 1890 toilet are all also open to the public.
Visitors In 2014, the castle had 19,000 visitors, a 25% increase on the previous year. About 1,000 children also visited to take part in the castle’s learning programme, which includes handling sessions and study days for specialist groups.
Help in hand “We have eight permanent members of staff, four of whom are full-time, with an additional three who are only here during the open season of April to October,” says Esain. “We also have a team of 15 volunteers working in all areas including the collections, developing our group visits, tea room and garden.”
Budget Chiddingstone Castle’s primary source of income is through admissions and its events programme, which is complemented by secondary spend in the tearoom and gift shop. Another vital revenue stream is from weddings and private functions. “The castle will also be launching a Friends and patrons scheme later this year and we have already had some interest to become a patron, so fingers crossed.”
Survival tip “Renew yourself, reinvent yourself and be in touch both with the community and current times,” Esain says. The castle has had success through the introduction of a country fair, which now attracts 2,000 people and has brought
it closer to the farming community. Chiddingstone Castle also has an active presence on social media channels and is looking to develop an app.
Future prospects Esain says there are plenty of plans, including applying for Designated status, digitising parts of the collection and continuing to develop its permanent exhibition about the history of the building, its early inhabitants and the local area.
www.chiddingstonecastle.org.uk/
