Dene Park
Dene Park is a Victorian mansion house and estate on the outskirts of Shipbourne[1] in Kent.
Built in 1883 Dene Park was designed by the architect F.T.W Millar,[2] Dene Park was designed primarily as a sporting estate and occupied 620 acres in total. Built of red brick with bath stone dressings, the gardens were designed by the landscape gardener Edward Milner of which much of his original design work still remains.[3] To the right of the property the iconic round smokery remains hinting at the property's sporting heritage.
Owned by Sir John Hollams until 1911 it was then inherited by Frederick Willams Hollams who lived there with his wife, Mary Owen Hollams, daughter of the architect Sir Charles Lanyon and their daughters Edith Maud Hollams and the artist Florence Mabel Hollams.[4]
During the Second World War Dene Park became the training school for the 44th (Home Counties) Division[5] and 53rd Division. Jack Rose, a Hurricane pilot flying Hurricanes from West Malling Airfield worked with the instructors to make training as realistic as possible; the school's instructors would carry out exercises on Shipbourne Green with aircraft flying in fours would carry out low-level navigation exercises culminating on an attack on the Battle School troops. Camera Guns were used and the resulting films passed to instructors and troops to estimate what casualties would have been suffered and how to improve tactics.
In 1955 the House became the Thomas Delarue School,[6] a specialist co-educational boarding school. In 1963 the school moved to a purpose built site near Tonbridge.
The house was converted into private luxury flats in 1993, with the woods now managed by the Forestry Commission, and the original coach house is now occupied by Greensands Ridge gin distillery. The house retains many original features from its construction, including the original chapel ceilings, terrace and fireplace from 1591 taken from Haddon Hall.
Notable residents
References
- ↑ Trust, Woodland. "Dene Park". Woodland Trust. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ↑ Taken from the 1885 sales particulars,
- ↑ "Edward Milner", Wikipedia, 2021-02-16, retrieved 2022-08-01
- ↑ "F. M. Hollams", Wikipedia, 2022-08-01, retrieved 2022-08-01
- ↑ "44th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)", Wikipedia, 2022-08-01, retrieved 2022-08-01
- ↑ "Thomas Delarue School", Wikipedia, 2022-08-01, retrieved 2022-08-01
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