The manor of Lullingstone – mentioned in the Domesday Book – is one of England’s most ancient family estates
On the north wall in the great hall hangs a portrait painted in 1755 of Sir Thomas Dyke, the 2nd Baronet
Lullingstone’s Tudor west front was aggrandised with a fashionable symmetrical brick façade in the early 18th century by Percyvall Hart Dyke. He pulled out all the stops to honour Queen Anne, who visited the house both before and after her coronation
Growing up at Lullingstone Castle – a family estate dating back to the Domesday Book – was idyllic for Tom Hart Dyke and his sister, Anya. The library was a favourite spot – and not for its collection of rare 17th- and 18th-century manuscripts. ‘It was a fabulous place for hide and seek,’ Tom recalls. ‘The room is pretty cold, so no one ever really wanted to go in. As a youngster, you could just about fit under the big chairs; you wouldn’t be found!’
The 120-acre estate might
