Chiddingstone Castle was created by two men. In 1805 Henry Streatfeild rebuilt his ancestral home in the fashionable Georgian Gothic style and in 1955 the house was bought by Denys Eyre Bower, who filled the building with his varied and fascinating collections.
The Streatfeild family built a red-brick Carolean manor house on their 3,000 acre estate.
At the beginning of the 19th century Henry Streatfeild began to remodel the house in the 'Castle Style'.
New wings were added to the north and south sides of the house by William Atkinson. These were embellished with Gothic windows and battlements, with the Carolean building sandwiched in between.
However, Henry Streatfeild could not afford to complete the work and it was another 30 years before his son finished the re-facing and battlementing.
By the 1930s the Streatfeild family could no longer afford to maintain this miniature version of a nobleman's residence and sold up. During the 1940s the building suffered heavily from military and then scholastic occupation.
When Chiddingstone Castle was purchased by Denys Bower in 1955 the building was derelict. Bower, who came from Derbyshire, had no inherited wealth and between the ages of 16 - 20 worked as a bank clerk.
During this period he developed a deep interest in art of all kinds and slowly established a second career as a dealer. He eventually concentrated solely on art collection. He tended to specialise in the unfashionable areas and had a great ability to recognise quality.
Bower was unwilling to let comfort or the necessities of life stand in his way and achieved amazing results. However, he lacked the means to restore the Castle.
When he died in 1977 Bower left the house and contents to the National Trust but the gift was refused.
Subsequently a private charitable trust was set up to run the property: the Denys Eyre Bower Trust. The Trust, with the assistance of English Heritage, has carried out a careful restoration of the Castle.
The house is faced with smoothly-cut sandstone and has traceried windows and a battlemented roofline.
Chiddingstone Castle is set in a 35 acre park with magnificent views of the Weald.
