Riverhill House
Encyclopedia
Riverhill House is a Grade II listed rag-stone
Queen Anne
manor house
located on the southern edge of Sevenoaks
in Kent
, England
. The house and estate, of 130 acres (52.6 ha), are located directly to the south of Knole Park
, near to the villages of Sevenoaks Weald
and Underriver
. The gardens are occasionally open to the public, mainly in the spring.
Originally built on the site of a Tudor
farmstead in 1714, John Rogers purchased Riverhill House and estate in 1840. A keen botanist and a contemporary of Charles Darwin
, Rogers purchased the property because of its sheltered location and lime
-free soil. Rogers was an early member of the Royal Horticultural Society
and a patron of Victorian
plant-hunters.
The house has been enlarged and improved since then, by subsequent generations of the Rogers family up until 1900. Today the house is still a family home in private ownership of the Rogers family.
The Riverhill estate include gardens first established by John Rogers in 1842. The house and gardens are periodically open to the public. The huge Turkey oak at the front of the house was brought back as an acorn by a previous owner returning from the Crimean War
. The garden also has cedar
trees plated in the 1840s.
In March 2010 Riverhill House was the subject of a Channel 4
television documentary presented by hotelier Ruth Watson
as part of the Country House Rescue
series. The documentary featured the current owner and director of the house Jane Margaret Rogers
and leading maze designer Adrian Fisher
.
Rag-stone
Rag-stone is a name given by some architectural writers to work done with stones which are quarried in thin pieces, such as the Horsham sandstone, Yorkshire stone, the slate stones, but this is more properly flag or slab work. By rag-stone, near London, is meant an excellent material from the...
Queen Anne
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
located on the southern edge of Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The house and estate, of 130 acres (52.6 ha), are located directly to the south of Knole Park
Knole House
Knole is an English country house in the town of Sevenoaks in west Kent, surrounded by a deer park. One of England's largest houses, it is reputed to be a calendar house, having 365 rooms, 52 staircases, 12 entrances and 7 courtyards...
, near to the villages of Sevenoaks Weald
Sevenoaks Weald
Sevenoaks Weald is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the Weald, immediately south of Sevenoaks town, with the village of Sevenoaks Weald at its centre. It was formed in 1894 from part of the ancient parish of Sevenoaks.The village was...
and Underriver
Underriver
Underriver is a small affluent village about South-East of Sevenoaks, Kent.The name "Underriver" is derived from the Old English sub le ryver which translates into modern English as "under the hill"....
. The gardens are occasionally open to the public, mainly in the spring.
Originally built on the site of a Tudor
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
farmstead in 1714, John Rogers purchased Riverhill House and estate in 1840. A keen botanist and a contemporary of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, Rogers purchased the property because of its sheltered location and lime
Agricultural lime
Agricultural lime, also called aglime, agricultural limestone, garden lime or liming, is a soil additive made from pulverized limestone or chalk. The primary active component is calcium carbonate...
-free soil. Rogers was an early member of the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
and a patron of Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
plant-hunters.
The house has been enlarged and improved since then, by subsequent generations of the Rogers family up until 1900. Today the house is still a family home in private ownership of the Rogers family.
The Riverhill estate include gardens first established by John Rogers in 1842. The house and gardens are periodically open to the public. The huge Turkey oak at the front of the house was brought back as an acorn by a previous owner returning from the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. The garden also has cedar
Lebanon Cedar
Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean region.There are two distinct types that are considered to be different subspecies or varieties. Lebanon cedar or Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean...
trees plated in the 1840s.
In March 2010 Riverhill House was the subject of a Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
television documentary presented by hotelier Ruth Watson
Ruth Watson
Ruth Watson , is an English hotelier, broadcaster and food writer.-Early life and career:Born in London, Ruth Watson was educated in London and at Westonbirt School in Gloucestershire...
as part of the Country House Rescue
Country House Rescue
Country House Rescue is an observational documentary series which airs on British terrestrial television channel, Channel 4. The series has also aired on BBC Canada, ABC1 in Australia and Living in New Zealand....
series. The documentary featured the current owner and director of the house Jane Margaret Rogers
Jane Margaret Rogers
Jane Margaret Rogers of Riverhill, Sevenoaks was the High Sheriff of Kent from March 2009 to March 2010.-Background:Rogers' great grandfather, Henry Arthur Brassey, was High Sheriff of Kent in 1890. She grew up in Wiltshire, where her father was High Sheriff in 1959...
and leading maze designer Adrian Fisher
Adrian Fisher
Adrian Fisher is internationally recognised as one of the world's leading maze designers. His mazes can be found in all corners of the globe....
.