Goldenhurst_Farm

Goldenhurst Farm

Goldenhurst Farm

Grade II listed house in Kent, England

Goldenhurst Farm (now Goldenhurst Manor and The Old House, Goldenhurst) [1] is a country house of 17th-century origins[1] in the village of Aldington, Kent, England. From 1926 to 1956, it was the country home of Noël Coward.[2] It is a Grade II listed building.[2]

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Coward 1926–56

Coward found the property after placing an advert in the Kentish Times and receiving only one reply.[3] Initially renting the farm from a Mr Body, Coward bought it in 1927. In extensive rebuilding and renovation in 1927–9,[3] he linked together "the farmhouse, the square edifice, one of the barns and an adjoining cottage" to create a substantial country house.[4]

He wrote Cavalcade at Goldenhurst in 1931.[1] During the Second World War the house was requisitioned by the Army and Coward moved temporarily to White Cliffs, a house he rented at St Margaret's Bay. He finally returned to Goldenhurst in December 1951, recording in his diary; "We arrived at 1.55 - the house and land seemed to envelop me in a warm and lovely welcome. We spent the day hanging more pictures etc. Utterly exhausted but deeply and profoundly happy. I am home again."[5] But the post-war tax regime made the expense of running the large house increasingly burdensome and in 1956 Coward sold the farm[6] and his London home on Gerald Road.[7] In a letter to Laurence Olivier the following year, he explained; "Goldenhurst (five gardeners all year round, lighting, heat etc.) was costing a fortune."[8] He moved abroad as a tax-avoidance measure, dividing his time between Chalet Covar, at Les Avants in Switzerland and, firstly Bermuda, and then Firefly, his home in Jamaica.[lower-alpha 1][10] Coward died at Firefly in 1973, and was buried there.[11]

Description

The house is timber-framed, of brick and Kentish ragstone, with a tiled roof and is now sub-divided into two separate properties.[1]

Between 2006 and 2018, part of the house was home to the comedian and novelist Julian Clary.[12] The gardens of Goldenhurst were featured in the 2017 book The Secret Gardeners by Victoria Summerley and photographer Hugo Rittson Thomas.[13]

Notes

  1. A piano Coward bought for Goldenhurst in 1926, and which was removed to Graham Payn’s London home in 1956, sold at Christie’s in December 2000.[9]

References

  1. [1]
    Historic England. "Goldenhurst Farm (Grade II) (1071221)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  2. [2]
    British Listed Buildings Online (27 November 1957). "Goldenhurst Manor - Aldington - Kent - England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  3. [3]
    Clark, Ross (24 November 2004). "Mad about the house". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  4. [4]
    Tinniswood 2016, p. 262.
  5. [5]
    Coward 1982, p. 182.
  6. [6]
    Coward 1982, p. 305.
  7. [7]
    Coward 1982, p. 311.
  8. [8]
    Coward 2007, p. 617.
  9. [9]
    "Goldenhurst Farm". Christie’s. 12 December 2000.
  10. [10]
    Gray, Christopher (21 March 2012). "Noel Coward was early victim of tax anger". Oxford Mail.
  11. [11]
    Hillinger, Charles (1 January 1992). "The Magical Kingdom of Firefly Hill : Arts: Celebrities came to Noel Coward's winter retreat for the Jamaican sunsets and for their host's wit and wisdom". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  12. [12]
    Doughty, Eleanor (26 March 2016). "Julian Clary: What it's like to live with Noel Coward's garden". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  13. [13]
    Summerley & Rittson Thomas 2017, p. 52.

References
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