Otford Court, Sevenoaks, England

The extensive Beechy Lees estate was bought in the early-1880s. An unusual Victorian house was built and parkland laid out. The red brick house with terracotta embellishments, stained glass windows and a tower and cupola embodied all that was Victorian, together with the large rooms and the wonderful oak wood panelling/carving. The house is set into the side of the North Downs and enjoys amazing views out over its terraces and parkland to a distant church. The view is framed by fine woods.

The extensive south-facing kitchen garden and stable block were laid out at the same time, again with impressive luxuriance. The stables were tiled from top to bottom in blue tiles and, there are apparently very sophisticated plumbing arrangements. The kitchen garden walls are very fine, and in the old days there were glasshouses and conservatories and a range of bothies and potting sheds. All are now, unfortunately, in sad states of repair.

The house and land were put up for sale in 1902, and the large sales catalogue (now in Maidstone Record Office), is very rich in detail and illustration. The catalogue records that the grounds were laid out by a well-known landscape gardener, which might have been a Mr Pulham of London, as there are excellent examples of his artificial rockwork in the forecourt.

The 1909 Ordnance Survey map shows the layout of the grounds very clearly. The pleasure grounds were semi-circular, consisting of wide, steep, grass terraces and lawn, with shrubs and beds of flowers around the edge, and conifers to each side. A fountain walk was laid out and there was also a flat lawn, possibly for croquet. These pleasure gardens stayed intact until recently, when they were damaged by the storm.

Earlier in the 20th century new houses were built along the lower half of the main drive, but some splendid mature trees do still remain in this area. Part of the parkland in the south-eastern corner was built on, but most of the land on this estate is still open. The house became a school in the 1930s and some of the land was put to sports use. Since World War 2, much scrubby shrubbery/woodland grew up on the site, criss-crossed with pathways, giving a feeling of enclosure and intimacy.