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Cobham Hall
Cobham Park, including Cobham Hall, was the property of the
Earls of Darnley from 1733, when Edward Bligh, the 2nd Earl of
Darnley assumed the full title, until 1955, when it was broken up.
It is now under several principal ownerships. In its heyday, the
Darnley Estate covered 4,000 hectares. The park is now on the
English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Historic Interest
and lies within the Cobham Ashenbank Management Scheme (CAMS),
which was set up to carry out management projects as additional
compensation for the effects of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link on the
Park and adjacent areas. CAMS produced a Conservation Plan in 2003
as a basis for restoration and management. The Hall became Cobham
Hall School for girls (www.cobhamhall.com/) in 1962.
The original manor house has been developed down the centuries
and is now an imposing Elizabethan structure. The brick north and
south wings were built in the 16th and early 17th centuries and
further storeys were added later.
In the late 18th century, Humphrey Repton, the landscape
designer, undertook a commission by the 4th Earl of Darnley to
improve and remodel the gardens and park. At the same time, James
Wyatt was employed to alter and enlarge the Hall and to provide new
garden buildings and lodges, including the Mausoleum. The gilded
plaster ceiling in the wonderful Gilt Hall had been completed in
1672 and Wyatt lined the lower half with white veined marble
columns in 1791-3. There is a fine staircase, also by Wyatt and
Elizabethan fireplaces in the Long Gallery.
These images are from the Darnley Archive and Local Studies
collections. To see the originals, please contact Medway
Archives and Local Studies Centre. The centre is in
the Clock Tower Building on the former Civic Centre site
in Strood.
Select an image for a larger version
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| A tinted postcard photograph of
Cobham Hall, showing the south lawn and shrubbery. Couchman
Collection c1908 [DE402_23_02L]. |
The Gilt Hall at Cobham Hall, from a
glass plate negative. Probably late 19th century. [Transferred from
the Guildhall Museum]. |
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Left. The Mausoleum on William's Hill, Cobham Park was
built in the 1780s by John, 4th Earl of Darnley, on the
instructions of his father. He employed the architect James Wyatt.
The Mausoleum, which was never consecrated and had fallen into
neglect, was nominated in the BBC's Restoration programme
and was subsequently awarded Heritage Lottery Funding in 2004. CAMS
is now working on its restoration. c1930 Couchman Collection
[DE402_23_13].
Above. The dining room at Cobham Hall, with the table
laid for large group. 20th century [U565_H088].
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Left. Nurses outside Cobham Hall during the First World
War, when it was used as a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) hospital.
1914-1918 [U565_H081].
Right. Stone tablet at Cobham Hall commemorating its
use as a VAD hospital. [U565_H079].
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