EAGG outing to Kent - 12th July 2012

Our outing began with that at the time was an almost inconceivable sight - blue skies and fine weather. Most of us being cautious travellers had brought some kind of wet weather kit, but Heather would have none of it. She called us pessimists and assured us it was going to be fine - which it was. So on July 12th we crossed the Thames to visit two houses in Kent.

Restoration House

Restoration House in Rochester is so called because Charles ll stayed there on his way from Dover to London to claim the throne; at the time he couldn't be sure that everyone would accept him. That's why the State Bedroom had a number of escape routes. We were shown a corner with three doors one above the other and hidden behind a heavy cupboard was a chute down to ground level. Among the rooms were the Great Chamber (refitted by Sir Francis Cheke to show his importance as an MP and considered to be the original of Miss Havisham's room in Great Expectations), the King's Stair (actually dating from 1680 and so not available to Charles ll twenty years earlier), and the Eccentric Room, called that because it contains such

A variety of styles. The Great Hall had among other things a dole cupboard where leftover food could be kept for any passing poor and homeless people - hence the expression being on the dole. It is a tribute to the talents of the present owners that none of the furniture is later than the 17th century, yet none of it was in the house when the present owners moved in 1994. A contrast to this is the house's collection of Gainsboroughs including three portraits and eight landscapes - all of which made us from the hinterland of Sudbury feel very much at home.

(Photos provided by Maggie Thorpe)

Godinton House near Ashford

Surrounded by beautiful parkland and has a spaciousness not available in Rochester. It was occupied by the Toke family from 1474 to 1896 and its outward appearance owes a great deal to Dutch influences. It has some very sumptuous carpets and (like Restoration House) a very fine porcelain collection. In the midst of this there is a signed copy of a photograph of Margaret Thatcher who stayed there after shaking hands with President Mitterand through the newly opened gap in the Channel Tunnel; she clearly enjoyed her stay at Godinton very much indeed. One painting I found memorable was R. B. Martineau's "Last Day in the Old House" which shows a spendthrift squire looking remarkably cheerful despite being evicted - quite a contrast to the continuity maintained by theTokes. During the twentieth century there were many changes of name because the house often passed through the female line. When the last owner died without an heir he left the house to trustees who manage it independently of bodies like the National Trust and English Heritage; clearly they do the job extremely well.

I wouldn't dare make any detailed comments on either garden except that both are very beautifully maintained and a credit to those who work in them. And finally - a very big Thank You to Heather Massey for the very many interesting and informative outings she has organised so splendidly over the years.

The Rev. Canon Christopher Sansbury.