The 28-acre Kent Life property developed over time from the ancient Sandling Farm, which was part of the larger Allington Castle estate in the mid-16th century — spanning some 461 acres – and was held by Thomas Wyatt.
The Tyrwhitt-Drake family owned the Allington Castle estate, subsequently known as the Cobtree estate. Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake, the only son, acquired it when his father died in the early 1900s. Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake, an eccentric guy, created a small zoo on the grounds and is said to have had an obsession with the Zebra, putting black and white stripes on a donkey so he could view it from his mansion! In 1951, the Cobtree Estate was given to a charity trust.
Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-fortune Drake’s was given to the people of Maidstone when he died childless in 1964. By 1983, a combined initiative of Kent County Council and Maidstone Borough Council had built ‘The Museum of Kent Life’ (as it was previously called) on the site of the old Sandling Farm, and it was formally opened to the public on July 6, 1985. As a result, the Museum of Kent Life was established as a functioning heritage farm to convey the narrative of everything formerly Kentish.
The Oast Home, the farmyard, the gardens, and the Estate Manager’s house were all restored during the following ten years (Sandling Farm House). The Vale Farm Barn was the first of the attraction’s buildings from across the county to be rescued from destruction and meticulously reconstructed piece by piece on-site, and it was finished in 1990. The restoration of Petts Farmhouse, Ulcombe Village Hall, Lenham Cottages, Cuxton Chapel, and the Agricultural Store, all of which were rescued from destruction elsewhere in the county, maintained the preservation of the region’s history. These ancient structures reflect a richness of history and changes throughout the ages that have relevance not just across Kent, but also in the broader society.
Kent Life, as it is now called, is one of the few surviving locations in the UK where hops are planted, picked, dried, and packaged by hand in its beautiful Oast house using only time-honored, traditional methods.
