Trosley Towers
Introduction
In 1880, the area between the Tollgate on the Gravesend Road and the Pilgrim’s Way was a steeply sloped, wooded area with no dwellings. Who could have thought that, within ten years, a 34-room stately home would have been built there by one of the richest men in England and that a 376-acre estate would have been created? And that, less than sixty years later, the mansion would be gone, and on its land an army training camp for up to 10,000 cadet officers would have been established? That became housing for London families desperate for accommodation after the war ended, and eventually became Vigo Village and Trosley Country Park. All quite bizarre, but it happened, and it happened in the local area.
Sir Sydney Waterlow
Sir Sydney Hedley Waterlow, 1st Baronet, KCVO (1822–1906) was a British philanthropist and Liberal Party politician, best known for donating Waterlow Park in Highgate, North London, to the public as “a garden for the gardenless” and for building Trosley Towers near Fairseat, in Kent.
The Waterlow family were among the wealthiest and most influential in the City of London during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The earliest Waterlows found in England were refugees from the persecution of Protestants in northern France in 1628, and are mentioned in the marriage registers of a Protestant refugee society in Canterbury in 1633.
Note: Further information on Sir Sydney Waterlow is available under ‘Luminaries’, within the ‘People’ section.
Sir Sydney had a substantial property and land in Highgate, North London, and following his marriage to Anna Maria Hickson in 1845, he named the property ‘Fairseat House’, after his wife’s family home in Fairseat in the parish of Stansted, Kent. Anna was the daughter of William Hickson [Snr], who lived at Fairseat Manor. She was the sister of William Hickson [Jnr], who was a prominent social reformer in the 1850s.
Note: Further information on William Hickson [Jnr] is available under ‘Luminaries’, within the ‘People’ section.
In the following years, he purchased additional land and properties in the Highgate area, forming an estate of some 29 acres. In 1889, Sir Sydney made the generous and public-spirited decision to present the whole of his Highgate estate to the London County Council. The estate was renamed ‘Waterlow Park’ and exists as a thriving public amenity to the present day.
In the late 1870s, he purchased 376 acres of prime Kentish downland near his first wife’s family property in Fairseat. His wealth can be appreciated when it is realised that he did this without disposing of his Highgate assets. The new estate was to the south of Fairseat and north of the village of Trottiscliffe and extended in an easterly direction towards Meopham, and towards Wrotham in the west. The Northern boundary was the main road between Wrotham and Gravesend, now the A227. Parts of the southern boundary followed the Pilgrims’ Way, the historical route taken by pilgrims from Winchester to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury. Locally, the route runs through Otford, Kemsing and Wrotham, north of Trottiscliffe, towards Cuxton, where it crosses the River Medway.
The area was referred to as ‘Trosley Estate’, named after the neighbouring village of Trottiscliffe, which is locally pronounced as ‘Trosley’. The estate is approximately 700 feet above sea level on the North Downs and offers spectacular views over the villages of Trotticliffe and Wrotham, and over the Weald of Kent towards the South Downs. It was on the Westerley portion of the estate where Sir Sydney was to build his extensive country mansion, ‘Trosley Towers’.
Trosley Towers
Sir Sydney commissioned the architect E R Robson design and then build Trosley Towers on the crest of an escarpment on the North Downs, to the east of Trosley Hill above the Pilgrims Way. The location chosen was on a portion of the estate, to the west of Trosley Hill (now Vigo Hill), which enjoyed uninterrupted views over the Weald of Kent. The mansion was built just inside the southern boundary of Stansted Parish, with the boundary with Trottiscliffe Parish running through the terrace to the south of the property.
Edward Robson, FRIBA FSA FSI (1836 – 1917), was born in Durham, served an apprenticeship to Newcastle’s John Dobson and later worked with Sir George Gilbert Scott on restoring the tower of Durham Cathedral. He was an English architect famous for the progressive spirit of his state-funded school buildings in London during the 1870s and early 1880s. During his years with the School Board, Robson designed several hundred schools in London. To this day, his schools remain in use and are known as ‘London School Board triple deckers’ due to their innovative design over three floors. They are significant public buildings and are instantly recognised as masterpieces of their kind. They have been described as ‘sermons in brick’. After leaving the Board in 1884, he remained as consulting architect to the Education Department. Robson also built the People’s Palace, Mile End, in 1886/7, as well as new school structures, notably Primrose Hill Infants’ School (1896), the Cheltenham Ladies’ College (1896), and the Jews’ Free School in Spitalfields (1904).
Trosley Towers was an imposing 34-room mansion with landscaped gardens and woodland surrounding it. Two tree-lined drives provided access from the main Wrotham to Gravesend Road, with gatehouse lodges built at the entrances. As shown on the 1908 location map, the northerly entrance was on the Gravesend road at the start of Harvel road and ran in a southerly direction over a bridge crossing Trosley Hill (now Vigo Hill). The bridge bears the Waterlow family crest, which is still visible today. The entrance featured a gatehouse, now a residential property named North Lodge.
The gated southern drive also began on the Gravesend Road, on the incline towards Wrotham, opposite farmland that was to become McMillan House in the 1930s. McMillan House is an important local landmark adjacent to Platt Farm and is named after Margaret McMillan, who dedicated her life to the developmental needs and educational progress of kindergarten and primary-age children.
The southern gated entrance featured a lodge, which still exists today as South Lodge, a residential property. An avenue of chestnut trees ran eastward to the junction with Hognore Lane, where the head gardener’s cottage was situated. The driveway continued east to Trosley Towers. Both drives met at the mansion house circular drive, which surrounded the front lawn and passed under the mansion’s Porte Cochère.
Note: A porte cochère is a covered porch-like structure at a building’s main entrance through which a horse and carriage, and today a motor vehicle, can pass, providing arriving and departing occupants protection from the weather.
The estate consisted of the Mansion House, garage and stabling, chauffeur’s flat, two entrance lodges, two Cottages, pleasure grounds, gardens, pasture and woodland. The mansion house consisted of an entrance and reception halls, a billiard room, three reception rooms, a study, twenty bedrooms and dressing rooms, four bathrooms and offices.
Ground Floor
- Entrance Hall: 25 ft. by 17 ft. with massive doors of panelled oak and a floor of white, rouge and black marble. Off this Hall was a cloakroom.
- Drawing Room: An “L” shaped room 40 ft. by 30 ft. with the ceiling decorated by delicate mouldings, panelled walls and dado, open fireplace with white-tiled hearth, marble surround and beautiful moulded chimneypiece with a central panel of Amorini.
- Morning Room: 28 ft. 6 ins. by 18 ft., and featured a moulded cornice and steel fireplace surmounted by a chimneypiece moulded in Acanthus design, supported by Caryatides and with a central panel of Amorini.
- Reception Hall or Lounge: 29 ft. square with finely carved tours from the Entrance Hall, with an open fireplace enclosed by a beautifully carved and panelled chimneypiece, the overmantel flanked by Ionic pilasters. From the Hall was the broad main Stairway to a Gallery, which was protected by a handsome marble balustrade encircling the first-floor level. A glass-panelled door gives access to a Terrace on the South.
- Dining Room: 35 ft. by 21 ft. with an oak floor; the fireplace had a marble hearth and an oak chimneypiece, beautifully carved and ornamented in Acanthus designs, flanked by miniature Corinthian pillars and enclosing a painting. A service door gave access to the domestic offices.
- Study: 6 ft 6 ins. by 14 ft. with a tiled fireplace and chimneypiece inset with mirrors.
- Billiard Room: 38 ft. by 24 ft. with an open fireplace surmounted by a stone Tudor arch and a massive, handsomely carved chimneypiece bearing a Coat of Arms.
- Off the extension of the Entrance Hall leading to the Billiard Room was a Cloak Room and Gentlemen’s Lavatory with tiled floor, two marble-topped basins (h. and c.) and two separate W.Cs.
Domestic offices were also on the Ground Floor, secluded from the residential part of the house and arranged on either side of a Back Hall. The offices included a Butler’s Pantry, cupboards, fireplace and Strong Room; Flower or Boot Room with sink and “Permutit” water softener; Kitchen with double-oven, auxiliary range, two sinks (h. and c.) and dresser; Scullery with two sinks and auxiliary range; Larder with slate shelving, second Larder with “Frigidaire” refrigerator; Servants’ Hall with fireplace and sink and Store Cupboards. There were also the Housekeeper’s Sitting Room and House keeper’s Bedroom.
First Floor
- The Principal or West wing comprised a bedroom, 27 ft. 6 ins. by 21 ft., with two tiled fireplaces, both with finely carved chimneypieces, one enclosing a mirror. A Boudoir, 20 ft. by 20 ft., with moulded panelling, the ceiling was decorated with moulding, and a fireplace with a marble surround. A full-length plate-glass window opened to a Balcony on the South, protected by a stone balustrade. Bathroom with porcelain-enamelled bath on white-tiled base and having shower and spray fittings, fitted basin (h. and c.) and W.C. Dressing Room with tiled fireplace and moulded chimneypiece.
- A Suite comprising a bedroom with tiled fireplace, marble surround and marble chimneypiece inset with mirror. A plate-glass window on the South opened to a small Balcony with a stone balustrade. Adjoining was a Dressing Room with a tiled fireplace and a mirror inset in the chimneypiece. Bedroom, 13 ft. 6 ins. square with tiled fireplace. Bathroom with porcelain-enamelled bath having shower and spray fittings. Separate W.C.
- The South East wing comprised a Suite including a bedroom measuring 23 ft. 6 ins. by 18 ft., with a tiled fireplace and marble surround. A Dressing Room or Bedroom about 14 ft. 6 ins. by 13 ft. 6 ins. with a fireplace having an onyx surround and two built-in wardrobe cupboards.
- The East Wing comprised two Bachelor’s Rooms measuring, respectively, about 14 ft. by 16 ft. 6 ins. and 14 ft. by 12 ft., each with a suitable fireplace, and one having a built-in fitment of a chest of drawers and a wardrobe cupboard with a mirror-panelled door. Bathroom with porcelain-enamelled bath and fitted basin (h. and c.). Separate W.C. Linen Room with heating pipes. Second Linen Room and a Servant’s bedroom.
Second Floor
- A Suite comprised a bedroom, about 22 ft. by 14 ft., with a tiled fireplace and magnificent chimneypiece, and a Dressing Room about 14 ft. by 12 ft. with a fireplace.
- A bedroom, about 14 ft. by 13 ft. 6 ins., with a fireplace and two cupboards.
- An additional two servants’ bedrooms and an Airing Room or third Bedroom; also a Servants’ Bathroom with bath and W.C.
- A Range of Large Attics with boarded floors, used for storage purposes and as Tank Rooms.
As shown in the photo gallery later in this section, the rooms were large and airy. The decor and furnishings were a splendid example of the tastes prevalent in the mid-Victorian period. Today’s tastes are very different, and the interiors may appear ornate and cluttered.
The gardens were screened by well-grown woodlands of beech, silver birch and hornbeam, which afforded complete seclusion. On the southern side of the Mansion was a paved terrace walk, protected by a stone balustrade, occupying the ridge crest; the grounds and pastures below fell to the ancient Pilgrims’ Way. The views were spectacular, and the fresh air was a very welcome relief from the smogs of London. In his later years, Sir Sydney found the open aspect and the pollution-free atmosphere very helpful for his health. He also spent time at his villa near Cannes in the South of France for this same reason.
On the northern side of the house, a tennis lawn and a putting course lay beneath shrubberies of azaleas, maples, prunus, and lilac, and a rustic thatched summerhouse overlooked the lawn. The sloping lawn was flanked by beech and hornbeam woodlands, through which a path leads to a partly enclosed area with shrubs.
To the west, a sloping lawn was flanked by the kitchen and the fruit garden, which were partly walled, well-stocked, and had a whole southern aspect. The gardens were filled with mature fruit trees, with the wall partly covered in peaches. There were various heated greenhouses, including palm and carnation houses, tomato and melon houses, a vineyard, plant houses with ranges of pits, store sheds, tool and potting sheds. At one end of the kitchen garden was a rockery. This partly walled garden still exists, with the Gardeners’ mess facilities having been converted to a residential dwelling, The Pot House.
The woodlands contained a great many fine oaks and beeches, with hornbeam, sweet chestnut and ash underwood. They were intersected by paths affording charming sylvan walks. Adjoining one of these was a timber-built summerhouse or garden room with a tiled fireplace, kitchenette and a verandah facing full south, looking over the “Pilgrims’ Way”. At a later stage, on part of the land near Harvel Road, a cricket pitch and a golf course were created for the use of visitors to the house and the staff.
The Trosley Towers mansion was completed in 1887, which was seven years after the death of Sir Sydney’s wife, Anna Maria. He remarried in 1882 to Margaret Hamilton, and it was she who called it home until his death in 1906.
Note: The following gallery contains photos of the exterior and interior of Trosley Towers, dated between 1880 and 1905. Please click on an image to view it in full size. The text article covering the subsequent history of the Trosley Estate continues below the gallery.
Sir Philip Waterlow
Following Sir Sydney’s death in 1906, the estate passed to Philip Hickson Waterlow, who was the second son of Sydney and Anna Maria Waterlow, and was born on 30 October 1847 in Hoxton, London. He married Amy Grace Lutwyche in 1869, and they had six children together. Amy died in 1897, aged 48, and Philip remarried the following year. His second wife was Laura Marie Jones, and they married in Quebec, Canada, when she was 39 and he was 50.
Philip became Chairman of the family stationery and printing company in 1876 and served thus for over 47 years. He became a Director of the Employers Liability Assurance Corporation upon its start-up in 1880 and also served there for over 50 years, until his death. He was elected a Lieutenant for the City of London and served as a Justice of the Peace for the County of Kent. Philip was appointed as High Sheriff of the County of Surrey in 1905.
Philip’s elder brother, Frank, died in 1871 in Genoa, Italy, aged 25, and so Philip inherited the Trosley Towers Estate on his father’s death in 1906. The 1921 census records Philip at Trosley Towers, shown as Chairman of Waterlow’s, with 8 servants.
In his later years, he was a keen painter, amongst several other hobbies, and rural Kent must have suited him well for this. He arranged and paid for the erection of the ‘Chapel of the Holy Innocents’ in Fairseat, for the children of Stansted convalescent home at Fairseat Manor, in memory of his wife, father and mother.
Sir Philip died at Trosley Towers on 20th September 1931; the funeral was held in the new Fairseat Chapel, and he was buried in the family plot at St Mary the Virgin, Stansted. His son Edgar succeeded him in the baronetcy, and the ownership of the Trosley Towers Estate passed to Edgar.
Note: Further information on Sir Philip Waterlow is available under ‘Luminaries’, within the ‘People’ section.
Trosley Towers Estate
The 2026 satellite image includes a yellow overlay highlighting the original Trosley Towers Estate, which extended to some 376 acres and spanned four parishes: Stansted, Wrotham, Trottiscliffe, and Meopham. The Parish boundaries are shown as thin red lines on the satellite image.
Sir Sidney made many improvements to the estate, and it has been suggested that he hoped to purchase additional land as far as Meopham with the intention of building a private road from Trosley Towers to Meopham Railway Station, but this was never completed. He did, however, build several properties on the estate, some of which remain today. Hamilton Lodge on Harvel Road was one such example. Other properties included North Lodge on the corner of the A227 and Harvel Road, and South Lodge, which is further down the A227 in the direction of Wrotham.
Alfred Roots (1892 – 1975) worked at the estate from 1908 as a garden boy and recalls the following:
“The Head-gardener was a Mr Cook. At the time, the vegetable plot belonging to the Towers was on the right-hand side of the drive, which went in by the North Lodge. The drive went down and over the bridge spanning Trosley Hill, then bore up to the Towers, which stood majestically overlooking the valley that ran through to Brimstone, including Happy Valley. The drive extended from the Towers crossing Hogmore Lane, by the Head-gardener’s cottage, to a point on the Wrotham Road coming out at the end of the straight length of road past the Vigo Inn, where two brick pillars stood, one each side of the drive.
While I worked there, a new drive was made through the wood from a point between the Towers and the main road to the South Lodge, nearly opposite the McMillan Home. This was occupied by the Head Chauffeur. Here, I might mention his name was Pillar. Other men who worked there were Stone, Frost, and Fogg. Stone was the Butler, Frost was the old chap who swept the drive, and Fogg worked in the vegetable garden.
The estate also had its own dairy and three cottages situated a short way up the Fairseat Road. These were occupied by the Dairyman, Under Gardener and Estate Carpenter.
Down the road, which goes in by the bus shelter by Vigo Inn, the buildings there were composed of the Electrician’s shed, Coachman’s cottage, gardens, carriages and stables. The staff there consisted of a Coachman, a Groom, two Chauffeurs, and an Electrician. Their livery was blue and gold. The indoor staff consisted of 4 house maids, a scullery maid, a kitchen maid and cook, a ladies’ secretary and ladies’ maid, a butler, and two footmen. The farm steward occupied the Hopkell House at Millars Farm. The meadow between the A227 and the Harvel Road was a Golf Course and a Cricket Pitch used by the staff who played matches against Holywell Park, Trottiscliffe and other teams.”
Note: Alfred Roots full recollections are available under ‘Recollections’, within the ‘People’ section.
Following Sir Philip’s death in 1931, the estate passed to Sir Edgar L. Waterlow, and some of its properties were sold to existing tenants/occupiers. Sir Edgar offered the remaining estate for sale at an auction held in the Estate Room, No. 20, Hanover Square, London, W.1, on Thursday, the 21 July 1932. The auctioneers were Messrs. DANN & LUCAS, Dartford, Kent, and Messrs. Knight, Frank & Rutley, 20, Hanover Square, London, W1. Despite a second auction in 1932, the estate remained unsold until 1935, when it was acquired privately by Mr Ezekiel Shahmoon, who was a wealthy merchant and bullion dealer of Iranian descent.
Note: Further information on Ezekial Shahmoon is available under ‘Luminaries’, within the ‘People’ section.
Trosley Towers was demolished in 1936. Exactly why Mr Shahmoon had the magnificent mansion house demolished is currently unknown. It is believed that he planned to build a new house on the site with a golf course, but this never materialised. He did, however, create a large stable block at the back of Hamilton Lodge, and one story suggests that the stables were constructed to accommodate the Shah of Persia’s racehorses on his visits to England. The stables at Hamilton Lodge stood until about 1960, when they were demolished, and the rest of the site cleared to make way for the development of Vigo Village. Mr Shahmoon himself lived at North Lodge, and members of his family who had fled from pre-war Europe occupied other properties on the estate. Most of his family then moved on to New York state, but Mr Shahmoom remained at North Lodge until his death in 1972, aged 81.
There is very little evidence of the mansion and gardens left today, and the satellite image does not reveal any remnants, just woodland. Any plans Mr Shahmoon had for the estate were cut short by the outbreak of World War II.
The War Years
The Trosley Towers estate was still owned by Mr Shahmoon when it was requisitioned by the army in 1942, and Hamilton Lodge was to become the headquarters of the Brigade that was stationed there.
With the outbreak of war and the subsequent increase in size of the army, the need for large numbers of suitable candidates to train as officers became apparent. This training was normally undertaken at an Officer Cadet Training Unit attached to the arm of the service in which the cadet would eventually serve. Because each OCTU. was required to ensure fitness and teach basic army skills, duplication of resources occurred; standards varied from unit to unit; and, most importantly, the levels of skill and basic army training of individual cadets varied considerably.
In the early part of 1942, it was therefore decided to standardise this basic training and send all potential officer cadets to a pre-OCTU for up to eight weeks before attending their ‘specialist’ OCTU. With a few exceptions, all officer cadets would now be required to attend this newly formed pre-OCTU, ‘Wrotham Camp’. On 20 July 1942, the 148 Independent Brigade Group moved its HQ from Sarre, near Canterbury, to Wrotham and the largest pre-OCTU ever known was officially brought into being.
Training areas would extend northwards towards Meopham, and south to farmland beyond the Pilgrims Way. It would handle the vast majority of officers for the British Army for the next four years, up to 10,000 men at any one time.
The camp continued to operate through to the early part of 1946, and with the army’s departure in 1946, ‘squatters’ moved in. These were people who, for the most part, had lost everything they had during the Blitz. Here they found ready-made accommodation in the form of Nissen Huts, well-made roads, and soon a lively, friendly community was to form, albeit without a number of facilities regarded as essential to normal life (schools, doctors, etc.). The presence of some 1,000 people in the area prompted the Councils of Strood, Gravesend, West Malling and Northfleet to improve conditions for the inhabitants. The council made improvements to the buildings and infrastructure, providing reasonable sanitation, basic insulation and waterproofing. The interiors were divided with partition walls to provide at least three rooms, one of which would have a brick-built fireplace.
The old camp lecture hall, Erskine Hall, on what is now the School field, was still standing and served the community in various ways, and at one point, it was used as a storage facility for props from the London Palladium. A bus service was introduced alongside a shopping centre, ‘Piccadilly Circus’, which included a butcher’s, a Co-Op, a Café, a bakery, and a drapery store. There was a library, a barbers with a fully equipped salon, and Dr Jenman and Dr Haslar held a surgery in ‘Harley Street’ nearby.
The stables at the back of Hamilton Lodge, built by Mr Shahmoon, were used as a Primary School from about 1948. Prior to this, the children attended Meopham and Culverstone Schools. By the late 1950s, many residents had been rehoused in nearby areas, and the area was, to a certain extent, cleared.
Wrotham Camp was officially renamed Vigo Village by the council (now Gravesham Council) in 1947, and a school for the village’s children was proposed.
Note: Further information on the OCTU camp and Vigo School is available under ‘Landmarks & Places of Interest’, within the ‘Places’ section.
Vigo Village & Trosley Country Park
In 1962, Kent County Council purchased the area of the Trosley Towers Estate to the east of Vigo Hill, subsequently allocating 165 acres for the development of what was to become Trosley Country Park. After a lengthy planning battle, outline planning permission to develop some 800 residential properties was granted, and the remaining land was sold to an investment company associated with the housebuilder Croudace Ltd. This marked the beginning of Vigo Village as it exists today, with the first residents assuming ownership in 1965.
Note: The history of Vigo Village is available under ‘Local History’, within the ‘History’ section.
In 1974, plans to extend Vigo village with more housing were vetoed by Kent County Council due to the adverse impact on the North Downs landscape. At the same time, Kent County Council was preparing to create Trosley Country Park. The park was opened in May 1976, and the site on the edge of the North Downs was one of the council’s first two country parks.
Trosley Country Park is now home to a rich variety of wildlife and a mix of woodland and open chalk grassland. The chalk grassland in the area is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, while the grassland supports an array of butterflies every summer, including the Chalkhill Blue.
There are 3 waymarked trails – the Downland Trail is very steep in parts, while the Woodland Walk is much gentler. The Trosley Trail is suitable for buggies and wheelchairs. All provide spectacular views over the downs. For the more adventurous, the park is also a good base to visit the Coldrum Stones, an ancient listed monument of 15 sarsen stones
Note: Further information on Trosley Country Park is available under ‘Landmarks & Places of Interest’ in the ‘Places’ section.
Conclusion
So that is the story of 400 acres of unspoiled woodland in North West Kent 150 years ago. A rich philanthropist’s country pile, an Iranian businessman’s dream, a huge Army training camp, a refuge for WW2’s dispossessed, a new village in the countryside and a Country Park with magnificent views.
Author: Tony Piper
Contributors: Dick Hogbin
Editor: Tony Piper
Acknowledgements: English Heritage
Last Updated: 23 January 2026