Kentchurch Court, Ancestral Home of the Scudamore Family
Kentchurch Court was formerly a 14th century castle, it is a sensational stately home. It is situated in Herefordshire in the United Kingdom. This famous property forms part of a huge 5000 acre estate with an ancient deer park and crosses the border of the UK and Wales.
The house has featured as a film location on several occasions featuring in both 'The Vault of Horror' and 'On the Black Hill'. The Channel 4 reality TV programme 'Regency House Party' was filmed inside Kentchurch Court during 2003. To prepare for filming the house was subject to a huge refurbishment project . Twenty five rooms were redesigned and fitted in the diverse styles of the Regency period at an estimated cost of 250,000 in exchange for the use of the house. Packing the contents of the house in preparation for the refurbishment took 10 whole weeks and an incredible 3 miles of bubble wrap. In 2011 Kentchurch Court also featured in an episode of the Channel 4 programme 'Country House Rescue'.
Kentchurch is the home of the Scudamore family and it has been handed down through many generations of the family since 1058. The present house was renovated by John Nash in 1795 in the Gothic revival style, is now regarded as one of the most significantly important historic buildings in the entire UK.
Owned and run by Jan Lucas-Scudamore and her family, Kentchurch Court is still a family home. Kentchurch Court and its excellent gardens are open to members of the public on certain days during the year and the huge gardens are part of the National Garden Scheme.
First a medieval settlement, the deer park at Kentchurch has in the region of 250 fallow deer. The ancient deer park was formerly used as a Royal hunting ground. The Scudamore family have owned this piece of land since they bought it from the Knights Hospitallers of Dinmore almost five hundred years ago. It is possible for members of the public to pay a visit to the deer park by prior arrangement.
The 25 acre gardens have been extensively developed since 1815 when the house was occupied by John Lucy Scudamore who arranged for the gardens to be designed and landscaped in the picturesque style. The gardens have many interesting collections of plants and an impressive array of mature trees. The picturesque style remains evident today.
Wonderful borders within the walled area of the garden contain interesting collections of various plant families. The fantastic mature apple orchard wows visitors with its cheery display of colour when its under planted flowers come into bloom through the year. Stunning maple trees give an expanse of rich colour during the autumn season.
The spacious vegetable garden in the grounds, provides the house with wonderful produce during the year. The vegetable garden is unusually beautiful and of particular note due to a range of roses, and other flowering climbers which are grown on many structures in order to stimulate and promote pollination of the vegetables.
Herefordshire Gardens. The gardens at Kentchurch Court are open to the public as part of the National garden Scheme and also by prior arrangement. Visit our 'What's On' page for more information about access to the estate's Herefordshire Gardens
