Godinton House

About the museum

Godinton House near Ashford in Kent grew up around a timber-framed Kentish hall house of the 14th century, whose great hall and crown post can still be seen. After the de Godynton family and a few short-lived owners, the Toke family held the estate from the 15th century until 1896. Captain Nicholas Toke added the Grand Staircase and the plaster barrel-vault ceiling of the Great Hall in the 17th century, and John Toke remodelled parts of the house in the 18th century.

Around 1900 the owner Ashley Dodd had the architect Reginald Blomfield remodel several rooms and redesign the gardens, including the well-known yew hedge. Lillie Bruce Ward bought the house in 1918, and her grandson Alan Wyndham Green looked after it until his death in 1996. In 1991 he founded the Godinton House Preservation Trust, a charity that took over the house, its contents, the gardens and the parkland.

Today visitors see the house on guided tours that take in ten rooms, including the Great Hall, the Dining Room, the Chinese Room and the White Room. The gardens cover about 12 acres and are open on more days than the house.

Highlights

• Medieval timber-framed great hall with a 17th-century plaster barrel-vault ceiling
• Grand Staircase and Jacobean-style interiors
• Heraldic glass by Thomas Willement and chinoiserie furnishings
• About 12 acres of formal gardens with a famous yew hedge
• Guided house tours of ten rooms

Permanent exhibition

• Guided house tour – Guided tour of ten rooms, including the Great Hall, Priest Room, Grand Staircase, Dining Room, Chinese Room and White Room.

Operated by

Godinton House Preservation Trust

Admission & discounts

The regular price of 17.50 pounds is for House and Garden; tickets are booked online. Group catering is available at extra cost.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Marked accessible bays are in the main car park, and a short, wide gravel track leads to the ticket office and the accessible toilet. There are no wheelchairs to borrow, but mobility scooters are accepted in the gardens, on the ground floor of the house and in the tearoom. The gardens have gravel and grass paths that avoid steps. The ground floor of the house and the tearoom have wide doorways and level thresholds apart from one step without a handrail, for which staff provide a ramp. The first-floor rooms are reached by a wide staircase and are not accessible to wheelchair users. There are no toilets in the house. Only assistance dogs are allowed; other dogs are not permitted. Visitors can call the house on weekdays 09:00-17:00 before their visit.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

From the M20, leave at Junction 9 and follow the signs for Lenham and Maidstone (A20). The Godinton House sign is about a quarter of a mile after the second roundabout, on the left, opposite the Hare and Hounds pub. Coaches must enter via West Lodge.

Amenities & dining

• Café

The tearoom is open on Fridays and Saturdays for ticket holders. Seating is available in each room of the house and on benches in the gardens.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit