Permission secured for Flint Cottage Renovation at Broome Park Estate

We are thrilled to have received planning permission and listed building consent from Canterbury City Council for the Grade II* Listed steward’s cottage at Broome Park near Canterbury.

‘Flint Cottage’, as the building is affectionately known, will now be converted to form luxury ancillary accommodation for visitors to Broome Park Hotel.

The Broome Park Estate

Broome Park Estate has a rich history which you can trace back to at least the reign of Charles I. Over the centuries, the estate remained in private ownership until being transformed into a golf and country club in the late 1970s, and more lately purchased in 2016 by current owners.

Today, Broome Park Hotel offers luxury accommodation in the splendid Kentish countryside, a stone’s throw from the historic City of Canterbury.

The Scheme

Flint Cottage has stood unused and in a state of decay within the Broome Park Estate for many years. Although very few records exist cataloguing the previous interior of the cottage, it is thought that the elaborate exterior likely hid a less-extravagant interior, which it is thought was previously used principally for staff accommodation.

 
Current decay within Flint Cottage

The present owners of Broome Park are passionate about bringing this interesting, key building in the estate back into use, whilst carefully conserving its history and character. The proposed scheme will create a group-accommodation facility for weddings or family gatherings, and will provide four luxury en-suite bedrooms, a substantial bridal suite, and a social space.

Ground and First Floor proposed plans

The transformation works have been carefully and cleverly designed by specialist Heritage team, led by Associate James Wood with assistance from trainee architect and assistant, Natasha Paul.

Discussing the scheme, James Wood said:

“This building has a wonderful character, which can’t help but draw you in. We are proud to have been invited by the owners to design a scheme which will bring life back into this marvellous building, conserving it for many years to come.”

The History of Flint Cottage

It is hard to pick an exact date for the construction of Grade II* listed Flint Cottage. The building was thought to have been constructed in at least two phases, with the first brick-built phase possibly late Jacobean, and a later Georgian extension, doubling the size of the cottage and encasing the cottage in a flint skin.

Described by historical sources as a ‘Gothick’ building, it has also been suggested that Flint Cottage was built as a functional folly in the 1700s. Renowned author of the period and creator of Strawberry Hill, Horace Walpole, visited the estate in 1786 and it has been suggested that the extension and elaborate exterior may have been constructed in expectation of his visit. Indeed, it certainly would have been a talking point at the time!

The Works

With planning secured, the owner is eager to transform and conserve Flint Cottage, with works due to commence in 2021/22.