Godinton House

Godinton House (also known as Godinton House and Gardens or Godinton Park) is a stately home in the parish of Great Chart, owned by a non-profit-making trust. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) north-west of the centre of the town of Ashford, Kent, UK.

Description

Godinton House is an ancient brick house with a Jacobean-style exterior. The roof has a distinctive system of shaped gables (also called Dutch or semi-classical gables). The Jacobean house was built around a medieval great hall. Of particular note is the elaborate carvings in chestnut wood on the main staircase.

The gardens include one of the longest Yew hedges in England.

The house also has a Steinway piano, which is one of the best pianos in Kent.

History

Godinton House was the seat of the Toke family for about 455 years from 1440 to 1895.

Around the turn of the century (18th/19th) then owner Mr. Ashley Dodd hired architect Sir Reginald Blomfield to update the house and redesign the gardens. Blomfield planted the famous yew hedge, shaped to repeat the gable form seen on the house.

Godinton

Coordinates: 51°09′09″N 0°50′47″E / 51.1524°N 0.8465°E / 51.1524; 0.8465

Godinton (sometimes known as Godinton Park) is a suburb of Ashford, Kent in England, with its stately home Godinton House within its outskirts. Godinton is between Great Chart, Hothfield and the town of Ashford proper.

Demography

At the 2001 UK census, the Godinton electoral ward had a population of 3,933. The ethnicity was 97.1% white, 0.7% mixed race, 1.6% Asian, 0.3% black and 0.3% other. The place of birth of residents was 93.3% United Kingdom, 0.8% Republic of Ireland, 2.1% other Western European countries, and 3.8% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 75.5% Christian, 0.4% Buddhist, 0.4% Hindu, 0% Sikh, 0% Jewish, and 0.7% Muslim. 14.7% were recorded as having no religion, 0.5% had an alternative religion and 7.8% did not state their religion.

The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 50.4% in full-time employment, 13.8% in part-time employment, 6.8% self-employed, 2.4% unemployed, 2.6% students with jobs, 3% students without jobs, 10.6% retired, 6% looking after home or family, 2.3% permanently sick or disabled and 2% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 20.3% retail, 14.7% manufacturing, 8.5% construction, 9.9% real estate, 10.3% health and social work, 6% education, 8.7% transport and communications, 7.2% public administration, 4% hotels and restaurants, 4.2% finance, 0.6% agriculture and 5.6% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in public administration, construction, transport and communications. There were a relatively low proportion in education, agriculture and real estate. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 14.8% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.