Lord Kitchener at Broome Park

‘Your Country Needs You’ – it’s one of the most recognisable images in British history and one that’s been reproduced, reimagined and parodied for years. It’s one you recognise before you even know why.

What most people don’t know is that the man in that poster once called Broome Park home. A private country house in Kent that he personally transformed, installing bespoke fireplaces, commissioning ornate wooden panels and pouring himself into every detail. Some of that work is still visible today.

A Soldier’s Home

Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener was one of the most celebrated military figures. He commanded British forces during the Second Boer War and served as Commander-in-Chief in India.

In 1911, having been turned down for the post of Viceroy of India, and somewhat anticipating pending retirement, he found Broome Park, which he then purchased for just £14,000.

Located in a peaceful countryside location right near Canterbury in Kent, Broome Park had been on the market following the sale by the Oxenden baronets, who had owned it since the mid-18th century. 

After purchasing Broome Park, he wrote to a friend, “I have bought a house in Kent. It is rather a big place and will want a lot of doing up, but as I have nothing else to do, it will interest me enormously to make it a nice abode”

Restoration

Kitchener threw himself into restoring and renovating Broome Park, commissioning Demtar Blow and Fernand Billerey to carry out a major renovation project.

Because of the extent of the work being carried out at Broome Park and Kitchener’s foreign commitments, he only lived in Broome Park for brief periods.

His commitment to the restoration was clear to see, with his aide-de-camp stating, “the one relaxation which Lord Kitchener allows himself – the building of his house. It gives him such intense pleasure every Saturday when he comes down and sees the good work that has been done.”

Kitchener’s Death

Kitchener set out for Russia on board the HMS Hampshire, but shortly after departing, the Hampshire struck a mine and sank. 

Of around 750 men aboard, only 12 survived, and Kitchener’s body was never recovered.

The circumstances of his death, his fame and its ‘convenient timing’ generated conspiracy theories almost immediately and were spoken of for decades. None were ever proven, though.

After Kitchener: from retreat to hotel

After Kitchener’s death, Broome Park passed to his nephew and heir, Toby, Viscount Broome, who completed the remaining renovations before selling the property in 1928. 

Another interesting period in Broome Park’s history is during the Second World War, when Broome Park was requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence, serving as a military hospital, with the current Kent Room used as a surgery.

And in the months leading up to D-Day, the estate became a garrison for a Canadian armoured tank regiment. Some rumours say that several tanks were never recovered after the war and remain buried beneath what is now the golf course!

What you can still see today

Kitchener’s mark on Broome Park is still clear to see today. The grand entrance hall he had reconstructed, with its panelled walls, statement chimneypieces and detailed plasterwork, remains the centrepiece of the mansion. 

The formal gardens and carriage approach he commissioned still frame the house as you arrive.

Unfortunately, he didn’t spend long at Broome Park. But in the short time he had, he changed the building permanently, and the building has remembered him ever since.

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