Robert was born and brought up in Chiddingstone, where he lived until his marriage in 1974. When he was a teenager in the mid 1960’s, he worked at Chiddingstone Castle on Sunday afternoons, taking money for tickets at the gate into the village. He has fond memories of his time in this role, for which he was paid ten shillings for 3 hours. He passed the time when he was not selling tickets listening to the radio and revising for his exams.

Robert remembers meeting Denys and the original trustees of the castle, Mary and Ruth Eldridge. He remembers Denys wearing a monocle and driving his Rolls Royce through the village. Denys was usually dressed quite formally in an older style three-piece suit.

The layout of the house was very different in 1960’s. Robert remembered lots of black lacquer boxes on display, the armour lined up in the dark corridor, and the original Peter Lely painting. He was sometimes asked to patrol the rooms inside the house making sure no one took anything.

Heather and David were both born in South Africa. They came to England in 2002 and initially lived in London before moving to Lyme Regis where they worked at a bed and breakfast establishment.

They saw an advert for live-in housekeepers at Chiddingstone Castle in Lady Magazine and went to an interview with Ruth Eldridge. Ruth phoned and offered them the job that same night and they started a week later. They organised weddings and events such as vintage car rallies and classical music concerts. Heather worked in the Tea Room, where she still volunteers today. David worked on the maintenance of the grounds and building and until recent years volunteered in the Gift Shop. Their memories give us an insight into what it took to keep the castle going after it was established as an independent charitable trust by Ruth Eldridge in 1984.