The Coach House
Built in the eighteenth century, this two storey building was originally the Coaching house that served Quebec House in Westerham, Kent. Quebec House is the former childhood home of General James Wolfe (1727) and was bequeathed to the National Trust along with the rest of the site and buildings in 1918.
Today the Coach House is the location of our exhibition, tea-room and shop.
A rescue mission
The River Darent flows directly behind the Coach House which has made the site particularly vulnerable. Minor subsidence had resulted in significant cracks opening up in and around the Coach House in recent years.
During our project, the opening up works revealed that the ground beneath the bread oven, rear wall and other features of the Coach House was largely made up of alluvial soils; such soils are likely to have been deposited by the River Darent over time.
These alluvial soils were not sufficiently firm enough to effectively support the full load of the building. Conservation work was needed to help stabilise the building so it could be enjoyed for future generations to come.