Nothing is known about this chapel, other than it is believed to have stood on the corner of Hosey Hill and today’s A25 heading east, the site where ‘West Lodge’ was built in 1862. The photograph is therefore amongst Westerham’s oldest, probably dating from the mid-to-late 1850s. It would likely be attributable to Joseph Henry ...
Reference: WH0617
This doesn’t sound like a fun lot by today’s standards, but in the late 1800s there was a strong temperance movement in Westerham, linked with non-conformist religion practised at both the Congregational Church and the Gospel Chapel in the High Street. In advertising the evening, the poster uses the letters ‘D.V’ which in Brethren parlance ...
Reference: WH0648
In 1939 this centenary souvenir booklet was produced and sold by the Congregational Church to celebrate 100 years as a place of worship. The history of the chapel on this site is recorded in the pages that follow.
Reference: WH0618
Dunsdale Dunsdale was often considered the ‘dower-house’ of Valence and had a chequered history of ownership and tenancy. Earliest references to an original mansion at Dunsdale appear in 1823 with the owner recorded as one John Humphrey, who had purchased Dunsdale along with 142 acres of farmland when the Hill Park estate was split up in ...
Reference: WH1014
The position of the house raised on the bluff of a small valley was utilised to advantage by the landscape gardener Edward Milner. No landscape plans by Milner survive, but evidence comes from the Estate particulars of 1884 which mention him.
Reference: WH1008
This view shows the central conservatory and the parterre to the south side of the house.
Reference: WH1020
This somewhat fairytale gothic mansion enjoyed an elevated, yet secluded position. In 1819 J. P. Neale, a noted author of the time, described the valley in which Dunsdale was situated as follows: “The scenery excites feelings in the mind, which, though perpetually experienced by the lover of nature, never have been, nor ever will be ...
Reference: WH1018
This view shows the terrace to the frontage of the house with the distinctive evergreen wellingtonias in the near-distance.
Reference: WH1025
Comparing this black and white photo-postcard with the earlier aquatint one it is evident that the topiary work on the arches has grown. What beautiful surroundings for the convalescing soldiers to experience after the horrors of the trenches in France.
Reference: WH1015
Cutmill Pond The waterwheel at Cutmill Pond is dated 1858, the same as the mansion at Dunsdale. It supplied water via a reservoir and five filter beds to Dunsdale. The wheel is described as an undershot waterwheel with a 2.56/1 step-up gear to 2 crankshafts which could drive a single cylinder pump. It was able to ...
Reference: WH1027
This advert from the Westerham Herald of 1926 dates from almost the last days of the Gospel Chapel beside the laundry in the High Street, which first opened its doors around 1880. Non-conformist religion was an accepted form of worship at that time, usually adopted by ‘The Brethren’. Note the use of the letters ‘D.V.’ ...
Reference: WH0624
The Gospel Hall was the pitch-roofed building next to the lamp post on the left of the High Street, beyond the horse and cart. It is not known why it ceased to be used as a place of non-conformist worship, but by about 1928 it was gone. This may have coincided with an expansion of ...
Reference: WH0639