Archbishop's Palace, Charing

Archbishop's Palace, Charing, is an important heritage site dating back to the eighth century, and one of the earliest to be owned by the see of Canterbury.

[5] Notably Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon stayed at the palace, together with their vast entourage numbering over 5,000, on their way to the Field of the Cloth of Gold in France in 1520.

[6] The property was acquired by the Crown after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1545 and was subsequently leased to and owned by local farming gentry, notably the Honywoods and the Whelers.

[8] In 2004, the Archbishop's Palace was a finalist in the BBC/Endemol TV series Restoration, presented by Griff Rhys Jones, Ptolemy Dean and Marianne Suhr, produced and directed by Paul Coueslant.

been revived with the creation of the Charing Palace Trust, which is urgently seeking to raise the funds needed to acquire the endangered Great Hall, Archbishop's chambers, other associated buildings and the gardens.