Home > Your guide to places to visit in the Heart of Kent > Castles & Stately Homes

Castles & Stately Homes

The Heart of Kent is home to some of the most splendid castles and stately homes in Kent. Leeds Castle, near Maidstone, surrounded by a moat and grounds landscaped by Capability Brown; Penshurst Place, an Elizabethan manor house and home to the Sidney family for more than 450 years; and Hever Castle, once the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, are all particularly enchanting.

Tonbridge Castle dating from the 13th century is one of the few motte and bailey castles in Kent. Its recently restored gatehouse towers over the River Medway. Knole, the largest private house in England, set in 1000 acres of

deer park, and nearby Chartwell, once the country home of Sir Winston Churchill and now filled with memorabilia from the great statesman's life - are all wonderful places to discover historical Kent.