Lullingstone Castle

Lullingstone Castle is a historic manor house in the village of Lullingstone within the civil parish of Eynsford in Kent. The Hart Dyke family has lived there for twenty generations, and the present owner is Tom Hart Dyke. The estate once belonged to Gregory de Rokesley, who served eight terms as Lord Mayor of London. Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn visited the house regularly in the 16th century. The house passed through several families before the Hart Dykes took possession in the 17th century. The castle’s outer gatehouse, built in the late 16th century, is one of the first brick gatehouses in England and is a Grade I listed building. The main house, constructed between 1543 and 1580, is a Grade II* listed red-brick building with traces of its original 16th-century structure. The estate includes a 120-acre park along the River Darent, with features such as Queen Anne’s bathhouse and an 18th-century icehouse. Visitors find a walled garden transformed into the World Garden of Plants by Tom Hart Dyke, designed to ease his fears after captivity. The garden contains plants from around the world and was the subject of BBC2 series about its restoration. The grounds also include ancient oak trees, wildflowers, a Norman church, and remnants of Lullingstone Roman Villa. The park is now part of Lullingstone Country Park, open to the public.