Historic houses · South East England
Somerhill House
Somerhill House — a Grade I-listed historic house in england-south-east, United Kingdom.
N Chadwick — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1 h–2 h
- Family-friendly
- Limited wheelchair access
About
Somerhill House is a Grade I-listed building in england-south-east, United Kingdom. Grade I status is conferred by Historic England (or Cadw, Historic Environment Scotland or NIEA equivalents) on buildings of exceptional national interest. See the linked Wikipedia article for full historical and architectural details.
Photo gallery
From the Wikipedia article
Somerhill House ( SUM-ər-hil) is a Grade I listed Jacobean mansion situated near Tonbridge, Kent, United Kingdom. It was built for The 4th Earl of Clanricarde in 1611–13. The estate was sequestrated by Parliament in 1645, and restored to its rightful owner in 1660. The building had become derelict by the mid-eighteenth century but was later restored. Somerhill was painted by Turner in 1811. It was bought by a member of the Goldsmid family in 1849 and greatly extended between 1879 and 1897, making it the second largest house in Kent, after Knole House, Sevenoaks. Somerhill housed a Prisoner of War camp, Prisoner of War Camp No. 40, during the Second World War, following which it became the home of the d'Avigdor-Goldsmids and was visited by many celebrities of the time. Somerhill was sold by the d'Avigdor-Goldsmids in 1980, and again went into decline, being damaged by vandalism and storms. In 1993, The Schools at Somerhill moved in, as of May 2026 the building is used as a school.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
Description
Somerhill is built of sandstone. The stone also contains iron, which gives it a red colour. This stone is known as Calverley Stone. The house shows the transition from medieval architecture, in which the hall was the main living and entertaining room, to the more modern plan, where the hall became a reception room. Somerhill is one of the earliest examples of this. When built, this was an innovative design.
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 51.1827, 0.3003
- County
- Kent
- District
- Tunbridge Wells
- Parish
- Capel
- Postcode
- TN11 0NJ
- Parliamentary constituency
- Tunbridge Wells
Sources
- wikidata: Q7559754 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Somerhill House (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Somerhill House?
- Somerhill House is in Kent, South-East England, United Kingdom (postcode TN11 0NJ), in the parish of Capel.
- Who owns Somerhill House?
- Somerhill House is owned by The Schools at Somerhill Charitable Trust.
- Is Somerhill House a listed building?
- Somerhill House is officially recognised as Grade I listed.
- How do I get to Somerhill House?
- Drivers can navigate to postcode TN11 0NJ. It sits within the Tunbridge Wells parliamentary constituency.