Equestrian excellence in the rolling Kent landscape

As the dynamic CEO of Total WM, his family’s Essex-based recycling, demolition and property business, Justin Widdowson is accustomed to juggling a demanding work schedule with a passion for showjumping at the highest level. Equestrian prowess runs in the family; his father, Gary, was an international showjumper in his youth and later the owner, with his wife, Beverley, of Olympic super-stallion Big Star, the winner of both a team GB gold medal at the London Games in 2012 and an individual gold medal in Rio in 2016, ridden by his good friend Nick Skelton.

In 2021, Justin and his wife, Kathleen, who first met at a horse show in Rome, were looking for a country property within easy reach of London, close to good schools for their children, and with enough land on which to create a proper family sporting set-up. They settled on secluded Broomsleigh Park at Seal Chart, 3½ miles from Sevenoaks and a mile from Kemsing station, a handsome, but dated Victorian house set at the end of a sweeping tree-lined drive within 18 acres of landscaped gardens and parkland.

Broomsleigh Park is now on the market — at a guide price of £9.95 million — through joint selling agents Will Peppitt of Savills and Edward Rook of Knight Frank.

Originally built in 1860, Broomsleigh House (later Broomsleigh Park) was the focal point of the Broomsleigh Park residential and farming estate offered for sale ‘by order of the executors’ at Harrods auction rooms in November 1945.

The estate was described as comprising ‘Broomsleigh House with Four reception rooms, Billiards Room, Ten Bed and Dressing Rooms, Central Heating, Main Services, Two Lodges, Garage, Stabling and Swimming Pool, together with Chart and Oldbury Farms, Excellent Farm Buildings and 12 cottages, in all about 536 acres’.

Soon afterwards, London book publisher and dealer William Kingston Fudge bought Broomsleigh Park with 40 acres of land ‘to give greater scope for his passion for gardening and, for a few years, to try his hand at farming’. Fudge’s obituary in his trade paper The Bookseller, on April 4, 1985, further reveals that ‘there-after he was to divide his seven-day working week in two — half at Broomsleigh, the great love of his life, and half in central London’.

Fast forward to 2021, when, having completed the purchase of Broomsleigh Park, which is unlisted, the Widdowsons commissioned local designers Chambers Furniture of Halstead to completely refurbish the interior. The result is a seamless mix of period features and contemporary finishes throughout Broomsleigh’s nearly 13,000sq ft of bright and airy living space.

This now includes a bespoke kitchen, five elegant reception rooms, six main bedrooms and four luxurious bathrooms. Further accommodation is provided in a stylish new two-bedroom annexe.

Outside, the new owners lost no time in demolishing a former squash court and reviving a redundant swimming pool to create a spectacular sports facility. An enclosed walkway leads from the main house to a versatile sports hall, gym and games area; the adjoining leisure complex overlooks the grounds and comprises a swimming pool with a fully retractable glass roof next to a pukka bowling alley. Also within the grounds are a flood-lit tennis court/football pitch with an adjoining tennis house and a newly built treehouse with power and Wi-Fi laid on.

The impressive equestrian facilities currently comprise a stable block with six loose boxes, a wash/clipping bay, tack room, feed store and manège, with immaculate post-and-rail paddocks laid out within the grounds. Planning permission has been granted to enlarge the existing sand school and build a covered horse-walker, although these facilities may not be sold away from the rest of the property.

Building and refurbishment took more than two years to complete, during which time Mr Widdowson reinforced his links with the Bunn family’s famed All England Jumping Course at Hickstead, West Sussex, where he is a regular sponsor. There, in July 2023, British showjumping saw the emergence of a new young star when his eight-year-old daughter, Annabel, became the youngest ever rider to win a major series in Hickstead’s formidable international arena, having ridden the phenomenal, 22-year-old Bunbury Quest to success in the Pro Ponies UK British Showjumping Winter 128cm Championship.

The pair continued their winning ways throughout 2024, taking the Agria 128cm championship at London International Show, where, according to Horse & Hound, they ‘flew round in top gear, six seconds faster than their nearest rival’. With time on her side, Annabel hopes that, one day, she’ll have a Big Star foal to compete on.

With long-term showjumping success in mind, Mr Widdowson has decided to sell his pristine Kent operation and move closer to Hickstead, where his team can avail of the centre’s world-class training and competition facilities.

Broomsleigh Park is for sale with Savills and Knight Frank for £9.95 million