Great Maytham Hall

These 18th-century wings largely survive, but the main building was rebuilt two storeys higher by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1909–12 for The Right Honourable H. J. Tennant, a prominent Liberal Member of Parliament, who reverted to the use of the original name, Great Maytham.

[2] However, because of the threat of a German invasion, the authorities soon advised another move, and this time, with 24 hours' notice and the help of the London Society for the Blind, a temporary home was found for the college in Dorton, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

When Lutyens rebuilt Great Maytham Hall he retained the old walled garden as an adjunct to the grand new brick house in the manner of Sir Christopher Wren, but landscaped the terraced lawns and surrounding parkland in his signature style, in partnership with Gertrude Jekyll, who planted his design.

As part of the "Dig for Victory" campaign, Frances Hodgson Burnett's roses were replaced with cabbages and leeks, and the manicured lawns were patriotically planted with potatoes and carrots.

A jettisoned German bomb in the middle of the former lawn did not help to improve matters, and after the war the house stood empty for many years, and the gardens were left to decline.