Bateman's: Home of Rudyard Kipling
(vero;2026-March-30)
Bateman's was the family home of Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) and his wife Caroline (1862-1939) who lived there from 1902 until their death. The house was a farmhouse and in a poor state of repair when they bought it but they had fell in love with the old building (dated 1634) and its 33 acres of land (including a mill) and quickly set off to modernise it by installing a turbine to generate electricity and by adding bathrooms and central heating. Thanks to the prize money from his Nobel in Literature received in 1907, Kipling created the garden himself and acquired more and more of the surrounding woods and fields to expand the estate to 300 acres.
Caroline bequeathed the property to the National Trust at her death and the house interior has been kept much as the Kiplings have left it.
The entrance fee to the house, the gardens and the park was 18£ for non-members when we visited in 2025, the car park was 4£ (free for members). Click here for up-to-date visitor information.
Go back to Bodiam Castle or go on to South West England or go up to East and West Sussex
$ updated from: South East England.htxt Sun 24 May 2026 15:57:34 trvl2 — Copyright © 2026 Vero and Thomas Lauer unless otherwise stated | All rights reserved $