County guide · The Stately Homes
Best houses in Kent
16 houses across Kent, from Dover's clifftop fortress guarding the Channel to Leeds House's lake-bound royal retreat inland.
Map
Every house on this list - 10 in total
Chartwell
Kent
Family home of Sir Winston Churchill for over 40 years
Knole
Kent
One of England's largest houses, former home of the Sackville family and childhood home of Vita Sackville-West
Ightham Mote
Kent
Moated medieval manor house dating from around 1320
Down House (Home of Charles Darwin)
Kent
Darwin's family home for 40 years, where he wrote On the Origin of Species; the gardens served as his outdoor laboratory.
Smallhythe Place
Kent
16th-century timber-framed house, home of Victorian actress Ellen Terry
Quebec House
Kent
Gabled brick house in Westerham, childhood home of General James Wolfe
Owletts
Kent
Modest 17th-century red-brick house, birthplace of architect Sir Herbert Baker
Stoneacre
Kent
Late medieval timber-framed yeoman's house near Otham
Penshurst Place
Kent
One of England's best-preserved medieval manor houses, home of the Sidney family.
Godinton House
Kent
Jacobean manor house held by a preservation trust.