Country houses were the showpieces of the nation's elite and Kent can still boast some of the finest examples, with Leeds Castle, Chevening, Cobham Hall, Knole, Penshurst Place, Mereworth and Broome Park to name but a few. Sadly, the county has also witnessed the demolition of several of its grander houses due to changes in social habits and the decline and amalgamation of great estates, not to mention fire, dry rot and death duties. Estates of modern...