QUEBEC HOUSE, Westerham
In the morning we will arrive here in the centre of Westerham and have guided tours in 2/3 groups of the childhood home of General James Wolfe. His parents rented the house, which dates back to the 1500’s, in 1726 and James was born in 1727. He became a soldier at 14 and by the time he was 22 had been in 4 battles, wounded 3 times and had command of his own regiment. He was promoted to General and led his army to victory at the Battle of Quebec in 1759, where he tragically died at the age of 32. An exhibition in the Coach House explains the battle and brings alive the story of the Quebec campaign.
There are no refreshment facilities on site but various eating places can be found in the town.
At 13.30 hrs we will depart for our afternoon visit.
TITSEY PLACE, House and Gardens near Oxted
A house of Georgian proportions built in 1775 but there are areas that go as far back as the Tudors. John Gresham, one time Mayor of London took over the estate in 1534 but in the 17C Greshams were M.P. ‘s supporting the King in the civil war. By the 1750’s the house had fallen into ruin then John Gresham took over when his older brother died at sea. John had the extreme good fortune of having married an heiress while also inheriting a second fortune from his uncle. This enabled him to set about restoring the estate which resulted in much of the dilapidated house being demolished and a smaller Georgian house erected.
There is a fine collection of Gresham family portraits, some by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Peter Lely. The Regency dining room has 4 paintings of Venice by Canaletto. The house passed through marriage to the Levenson Gower family who continue to live there today. We will be divided into 2 groups for the tour of the house, 14.30 and 15.30.
There will be time to explore the grounds at leisure and not to be missed is one of the best Victorian walled kitchen gardens, restored in 1996, as well as a Rose Garden and Glass House with a range of tropical plants.
There is a café on site for tea and cakes
Departure from Grayshott is 09.00 hrs
Tickets include transport, entry to both locations and tours
£48 per person or £45 for those with a current NT card which you need to have with you
Bookings are now closed for this visit.