Lectures

7th December 2022: The History of Godington House

Our invited speaker on 7th December was Betty Joynson who gave a talk on “The History of Godinton House”. Betty spent part of her childhood on the Godinton Estate, where her father was head gardener. Betty is currently a volunteer at the house.

Godinton House can be dated to the 14th century (1300s) when the Great Hall was constructed. Over time other rooms were constructed around the Great Hall. One of the first would have been the Solar, an upper storey room for the family’s private living and sleeping. Below the Solar is what became the Priest’s room, carefully disguised during the Reformation as a place of Protestant worship, whereas actually the catholic religion, with its hidden confession room was being practiced.

From the middle of the 15th century through end of the 19th century Godinton House was owned by the Toke family. The Tokes were responsible for many of the features we can observe today, particularly the Jacobean style of Godinton House. This can be seen in a water colour landscape painted around 1760-1800 by Michael “Angelo” Rooker (c1743 1801) that is in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The main staircase with its coats of arms of the Toke family and fine carvings of greyhound and griffin are dated 1628. The current dining room was originally the buttery (a room for storing food and drink separate from the kitchen and dining room). The dining room is still very much in the Georgian style chosen by John Toke, who served as High Sheriff of Kent in 1770. Jane Austen met John Toke and his wife in 1796, although it is not known whether Jane’s encounter with the Toke family extended to a visit to Godinton.

Around the turn of the 19th century the then owner Ashley Dodds, hired the architect Sir Reginald Blomfield (whose other design projects include the Menin Gate at Ypres, and the gardens at Chequers). Blomfield redesigned the Godinton Estate gardens, which today are still predominantly presented in his design. Blomfield redesigned the Gallery above the Solar, but changes were limited due to the medieval Tie Beam. Additionally, Blomfield designed the marble fireplace in the White Drawing Room. Indeed, elaborate fireplaces are a frequent feature of the house, and one based on the richly carved mantel in the Great Chamber is depicted in The Last Day in the Old Home (1862), an oil painting by Robert Braithwaite Martineau (1826 1869) in Tate Britain.

The next owner of the house was Lily Bruce Ward, who bought the house with money from her father, a wealthy paper manufacturer. A glamorous photo portrait of Lily in Court dress is displayed in the house. In 1917, Lily made alterations to the house, which included opening up the Solar walls with arches, all the décor being supplied by Liberties of London.

The last owner of Godinton House was Major Alan Wyndham-Green (1921-1996), grandson of Lily. The house today mainly reflects the tastes of Alan. A pastel portrait of Alan by local artist John Ward RA hangs in the house. In 1991 Alan, established Godinton House Preservation Trust. The Trust provides the funds to maintain and preserve the house and estate.

Other notable items in the house collection include the hand-painted wallpaper in the Chinese Room, a desk that belonged to Lady Paget, lady-in-waiting to Queen Mary, and a fine collection of Royal Worcester porcelain.

Godinton House and gardens are currently closed for winter, and will reopen in the Spring. Further information can be found at https://godintonhouse.co.uk/ or by calling 01233 643854.

Margaret Bray