Mentioned in the Doomsday book and boasting a history going back as far as 709. Chilham Castle has indeed a very rich past.
At times the home of more than one King of England, Chilham can also boast that it once once occupied by the heir to the French throne who intended to overthrow the English King in London.
In the gardens, Sir Dudley Digges is said to have triumphed by creating twenty four acres of landscaped gardens including one hundred yards of terracing.
There is a suggestion that Lancelot Brown influenced the design of garden changes in the seventeen sixties. Lancelot is famously known as Capability Brown and was at the height of his popularity
Robert Colebrooke's young brother George employed Capability Brown at Gatton Park in Surrey and the author of the Chilham website, Michael Peters, speculates that Brown's influence may be reflected in the sweeping swathes of grass.
There is a continuous and fascinating history right up to 2002 when Stuart and Tessa Wheeler bought the castle and embarked on an energetic restoration program.
The Independent talks about the restoration and the Wheelers and how retirement from his spread betting company IG index has allowed Stuart Wheeler enjoy such surroundings.
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