Broome Park is a country house in Barham, within the

City of Canterbury The City of Canterbury () is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. As well as Canterbury itself, the district extends north to the coastal towns of Whistable and Herne Bay. History The district was formed on 1 April 1 ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. It was built for Sir

Basil Dixwell There have been three baronetcies created for members of the Dixwell family, all of whom are descended from Charles Dixwell (died 1591) of Coton House, near Churchover, Warwickshire. All three baronetcies are extinct. The Dixwell Baronetcy, of T ...

between 1635 and 1638. In the early 20th century it was the country home of

Lord Kitchener of Khartoum Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a senior British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his scorched earth policy against the Boers, ...

until his death at sea in 1916. Now a

country club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offer ...

, Broome Park is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

Construction and early period

The house was built between 1635 and 1638. Commissioned for Sir

, 1st Baronet, who had been

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada England * T ...

, it passed down through various generations of

Dixwell baronets There have been three baronetcies created for members of the Dixwell family, all of whom are descended from Charles Dixwell (died 1591) of Coton House, near Churchover, Warwickshire. All three baronetcies are extinct. The Dixwell Baronetcy, of T ...

until it was inherited by

Sir George Oxenden, 5th Baronet Sir George Oxenden, 5th Baronet (26 October 1694 – 20 January 1775) was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1720 to 1754. Early life Oxenden was the son of George Oxenden LLD master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge and h ...

, who took on his mother's surname of Dixwell. It then passed down through various generations of

Oxenden baronets The Oxenden Baronetcy, of Dene in the County of Kent, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 6 May 1678 for Sir Henry Oxenden, previously Member of Parliament for Winchelsea, Kent and Sandwich. The second Baronet sat as Mem ...

to Sir Percy Dixwell Nowell Dixwell-Oxenden, 10th Baronet.

Kitchener ownership

In 1911 the estate was bought by

Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a senior British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his scorched earth policy against the Boers, h ...

, Aged 61 and having been passed over for the position of Indian Viceroy Kitchener anticipated pending retirement in a country residence. "I have bought a house in Kent", he wrote. "It is rather a big place and will want a lot of doing up but as I have nothing else to do it will interest me enormously to make it a nice abode". Kitchener commissioned

Detmar Blow Detmar Jellings Blow (24 November 1867 – 7 February 1939) was a British architect of the early 20th century, who designed principally in the arts and crafts style. His clients belonged chiefly to the British aristocracy, and later he became es ...

(1867-1939) and Fernand Billerey to carry out a major remodelling and to create the formal gardens and a formal carriage approach. Contractors involved included George P. Bankart, W. Bainbridge Reynolds ("sconces in silver copper"), Cowtan & Sons (wood panelling), Shanks (heaters) and Maples of London (panelling and a table design). Because of the extensive work being carried out on the property and Kitchener's professional commitments as

Sirdar The rank of Sirdar ( ar, سردار) – a variant of Sardar – was assigned to the British Commander-in-Chief of the British-controlled Egyptian Army in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Sirdar resided at the Sirdaria, a three-blo ...

in Egypt and subsequently Secretary of War in London, he only lived in Broome Park for brief periods: notably for six weeks while on home leave immediately prior to the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Full-time occupancy of the house was intended for his postponed retirement. However between 1914 and 1916 Kitchener spent his limited spare time in what his aide-de-camp described as "the one relaxation which Lord Kitchener allows himself - the building of his house. It gives him such intense pleasure every Saturday when he comes down and sees the good work that has been done".

Post World War I

Following Kitchener's death by drowning in June 1916, Broome Park passed to his nephew and heir Toby, Viscount Broome, who completed the required renovations before selling the property in 1928. In the early 1930s the estate was bought by Mr G C Jell who transformed the house into a country house hotel. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the estate was requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence, serving as a base for a Canadian armoured regiment at one stage. In or before 1979 the Park was acquired by Gulf Shipping, for the purposes of developing a timeshare and leisure complex. The development was the subject of litigation, which went to the UK Supreme Court in 2018. Today Broome Park is a timeshare hotel and club house for a golf course.

References

{{reflist, 30em Country houses in Kent Grade I listed houses in Kent