st)‘


The estate,which then comprised 225 acres,was sold by Count Zbrowski's Estate on
31 st July 1928 to Sir Walter Wigham,a merchant banker and governor of the Bank of
England(JW). The property was then simply referred to as 'Higham' and included much
surrounding farmland including Higham Farm to the east.Sir Walter and his wife,who was
a French Countess from the Salignac Fenelon family,later changed the name of the estate
to Highland Court which it retained until 1995 when it reverted to 'Higham Park’. The house
and surrounding gardens as shown in the sale catalogue correspond very closely with the
current layout though the north east comer room still retained its dome and windows on the
diagonal axis,and the central east front room was unblocked and formed a billiard room.
During the Second World War the property was occupied by the military and in 1948 Waiter
Whigham died following which there was a sale of fumiture on the instructions of Mrs W.K.
Whigham((KA). The catalogue includes a detailed description of the contents of each room
and refers to the north-east comer room as a ‘modem room’ and cocktail lounge. in the
early 1950's the property was aquired by the Canterbury Health Authority and was partly used
as a gynaeological unit for Kent and Canterbury Hospital. This section of the hospital closed
in 1981 but the house was still owned by the Canterbury and Thanet Health Authority in 1987
when it was sold on their instructions(C) to owners who intended to develop it as a hotel
and facility. Permission for this scheme,which would have resulted in a quadrupling of
the footprint of the main house,was granted in July 1991 ,however this scheme did not proceed
 the property  again sold in 1995 to Patricia Gibb and Amanda Harris-Deans. The new
owners sought to restore and improve the house and grounds and in return applied tor
permission to develop six houses in the kitchen garden around the ‘Bias Peter‘ bungalow
which.hao;@ergtly been completed in the same area. Permission for this work was given
in 38fiU&f§Lm_Qd4j8.ftd a further permission to alter and extend the Blus Peter bungaiow was
also given Fgcenfiy. The repairs and improvements to the main house and grounds were
stiosequentiy completed under the terms of a sestion ‘i06 agreement.
The outcome of the above events is that fits main house  immediate grounds remain
very much as adaoted torthe Zbrowskis in 1919-~i2,but  some significant internal
alterations and reorfrs and  addition of the Blue Peter bungalow in -the kitchen garden
and stables to the  The area oigrounds has,however, been radically reduc-ed
iron: the 225 acres remaining in 1928 to approximately .23 acres today. Much oi the iand
has been transferred to the adjacent Highland Court Farm and mere has been the
attendant  of a number of large sheds serving the Farm which run along the
southern boundary of the kitchen garden. The access to the forecourt has been realigted
in conjunction with the construction of the A2 Trunk Road,which now forms a significant Q
barrier to the west with associated increased traffic noise.A new estate ms recently been ,
constructed to the north of the junction with the old A2 endgeirtoad some significant  Q{i} j
impact on the environment of this area. 
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