This Grade II listed Georgian house is not usually open to the public. For Heritage Open Days there is an opportunity to enjoy a talk and tour, to learn about the past owners of the house and to see the restoration project recently undertaken by the current owners.

There has been a house here since at least Tudor times, perhaps earlier. In the early eighteenth century the site was owned by Jane Austen's great uncle, Francis, who was Steward of the Manor of Southborough. Later in the eighteenth century the house was owned by a Wealden ironmaster William Bowen. In the early nineteenth century its owner was an international timber merchant John Usborne. The gardens, with a chalybeate spring, have also been restored; they were once described by Nikolaus Pevsner as "a perfectly preserved Victorian garden".

Holden House has featured in many television programmes and was a finalist in Channel 4’s Britain’s Best Homes.

Sunday 11th September 1000 - 1400

Bookings required from 30 August on 01892 525360