Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
You can now live like a lord
ning reasons. And of course that was unthinkable. We wanted to keep it as a home. We had seen the article, and we thought this would be a perfect property to let.”
Goodnestone Park was completed in 1704.
Julian Fitzwalter’s parents, Lord and Lady Fitzwalter, moved into the house in 1955 but attempts at restoration were thwarted by a devastating blaze four years later.
In the decades that followed, the couple brought the manor back into a habitable state, with the gardens eventually opening to the public.
Julian and his four brothers grew up in the house, with their bedrooms on the top floor.
Following the death of Lord Fitzwalter in 2004, Lady Fitzwalter lived alone in the house until she passed away aged 92.
Julian, now Lord Fitzwalter, said: “When we were choosing interior designers we saw quite a few.
“Our brief was to do it up but to maintain the feel of a home rather than a hotel. We wanted something not too quirky or gimmicky.
“We wanted classical next to modern.”
The Fitzwalters say they are delighted with the outcome, a project spearheaded by interior designers Francesca Rowan-plowden and Marcus Crane.
Working together with the Fitzwalters, the two designers have transformed the Grade I-listed manor into a 12-bedroom holiday let boasting every conceivable modern convenience.
Lord Fitzwalter said: “We feel they’ve done it exactly as we wanted. We wouldn’t change anything.”
Asked if the project came in on budget, he smiled and said it came in “slightly over”.