Information

View map with disabled path

The staff at Godinton are always happy to help our visitors, please do not hesitate to ask for assistance and information. If you have any particular needs or questions, please call before you visit – 01233 643854 during working hours Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

Parking – on arrival please follow the signs to the main car park where there are a number of marked parking bays for visitors with disabilities. From here a short, wide gravel track leads to the Ticket Office and accessible toilet.

Wheelchairs – there are none available on site.

Assistance Dogs are welcome with the relevant paperwork, but we regret that no other dogs are permitted.

Toilets – there is an accessible toilet situated with the public toilets near the ticket office and car park. Please note there are no toilets in the house.

Gardens – from the ticket office gravel paths lead around the garden, with grass paths through the wild garden avoiding steps to the lower level. The gardens are accessible to wheelchairs and mobility scooters, and there are a number of benches in various locations throughout the gardens. Link to map.

House & Tearoom – the ground floor rooms and Tearoom are accessible for wheelchair users and mobility scooters with wide doorways and level thresholds. There is one step on the ground floor with no handrail due to the historic nature of the building. Staff will provide a ramp for use as necessary. A wide staircase with shallow steps and a handrail accesses the first-floor showrooms; regrettably, these rooms are inaccessible for wheelchair users.

Seating is available in each room if needed.

For the full document, please click here.

Please note that as of 2022 Godinton is no longer an RHS Partner Garden.

Tours of the house are led by expert guides unraveling the 600 years of history and revealing an excellent country house collection of furniture, art, porcelain, and curios. The first tour leaves at 1.30 pm and the last tour at 4 pm.

View Larger Map Godinton House is a few minutes drive from Junction 9 off the M20. From Junction 9, follow signs for Lenham/Maidstone, A20. About a ¼ mile after the second roundabout, there is a signpost for the house on the left-hand side (opposite the Hare & Hounds public house). A taxi ride from Ashford International Railway Station takes 10 minutes. The 10x bus runs from Ashford Town Centre, County Square (Stop K) and stops opposite the Hare and Hounds public house after about 20 minutes. It is then a mile and 1/4 walk along Godinton Lane to the North Lodge gates. Any questions contact 01233 643854

The Tearoom in the house serves a selection of excellent homemade cakes and cream teas. We do not offer a lunch or savoury menu. The Tearoom in the house is only available to visitors to the house or gardens Friday and Saturday. Refreshments are available from the Ticket Office and outside tearoom Tuesday to Sunday from 1pm – 5pm April to September.

Toilets are available to House & Garden visitors and are located near the ticket office. Please note there are no toilets in the main house or inside tearoom.

No shop, but a selection of plants and homegrown produce is sold from the ticket office when available.

Picnics are allowed on the grass next to the car park or in the area near the ticket office but not in the formal gardens except during our special picnic evenings.

Access for assistance dogs only. Dogs are not permitted in the house, gardens or the area around the Ticket Office, but can be taken on leads around the circular conservation walk surrounding the house (map available).

Two large hard standing car parks and parking for two coaches (coaches must book, Tuesday to Thursday only).

In 1991 Alan Wyndham Green established the Godinton House Preservation Trust with a board of Trustees, to secure the future of Godinton House and its contents, grounds and parkland ‘for the public benefit’. Mr Wyndham Green made it clear when he created the Trust that he did not want the house to become an impersonal museum after his death. The Trustees will continue to honour his wishes, incorporated in the Trust Deed, to preserve Godinton for the benefit, appreciation and education of the public; in short, to continue the sound stewardship of this fascinating and hospitable house and estate as it moves into the next chapter of its long history, not simply as a museum but as a living house, gardens and estate.

There are currently no vacancies.

• Lovely walks on the estate
• Close to the picturesque village of Great Chart
• 10 minutes from M20, Junction 9
• Convenient for Channel crossings
• 10 minutes from Ashford International Station
• London to Ashford on the High Speed 40 minutes

The taking of photographs, videos, etc. for commercial purposes in this garden is forbidden without the prior permission of the Estate Manager.  Licences must be applied for in advance and a licence fee paid. The use of tripods or similar equipment likely to interfere with the viewing of other garden visitors is also not permitted. Filming and photography is not permitted in the house.  Please note drone footage is not permitted anywhere on the estate.

The Godinton Charitable Trust (GCT) was set up in 1974 by the late Alan Wyndham Green, who inherited Godinton House and Estate in 1952. The Trust was founded with generous gifts of land in 1974, 1986 and 1989. This land was required for development by Ashford Borough Council and Mr Wyndham Green wanted the proceeds for charitable purposes.

When Alan Wyndham Green died in 1996 the Charitable Trust provided funding for the renovation of Godinton House, Gardens and Estate.

The charity is a privately funded grant-making charity. Trustees have discretion as to the application of its income or capital for charitable objects or purposes, it was always the intention of the Settlor to provide long-term endowment and continued support if necessary for its associated charity, The Godinton House Preservation Trust.