Denys Eyre Bower (1905-1977) was an art dealer and gifted collector who devoted his life to finding fascinating objects and works of art. He displayed his objects throughout Chiddingstone Castle, which he bought in 1955 and opened to paying visitors. Chiddingstone Castle remained his home until his death in 1977. Denys intended to leave his home and collections to the National Trust, but they refused it as it didn’t come with an endowment. A charitable trust was created in 1984 with the mission of preserving his collections in their original setting for the enjoyment and learning of future generations.

Denys grew up in a family of collectors. His father, mother, brother, and grandfather all collected antiques. Denys purchased many of his items at auction and from art dealers, taking advantage of the economic downturn of the 1920s and 1930s. Japanese objects were not as fashionable at the time when Denys was collecting and he would find good deals. His extensive research and eye for quality helped him create a unique collection. Highlights of the collection includes Japanese lacquer; Ancient Egyptian artefacts; Stuart & Jacobite documents; and Buddhist statues. In 2015, the Library at Chiddingstone Castle was opened to the public, thanks to a volunteer-led project that documented Denys’ vast collection of books.

Denys with objects from his Japanese collection

Born in 1905 to a respected middle-class family, Denys had a comfortable upbringing in the small Derbyshire village of Crich with his parents and younger brother, Alban. Denys was surrounded by collecting from a young age. His grandfather was the Chief Accountant of Midland Railway. Denys began by collecting stamps, coins, and Stuart and Jacobite objects, which were part of the history of the area he grew up in. Denys and his brother were particularly fascinated by the Japanese swords in their father’s collection. They got into trouble for parading around the village carrying them.

Denys and Alban

Denys was not particularly interested in school and left aged seventeen. He began his career as a bank clerk, but he was often distracted by collecting and auctions. Eventually, when Denys was in his late thirties, he moved to London to pursue his real dream - running his own antiques shop. The shop was called ‘Cavendish Hood & Co Ltd.’ and was located at 2 Baker Street. He kept his favourite antiques for his own collection and filled his nearby apartment with them. When the lease on the shop ended, Denys bought Chiddingstone Castle as a place to live in and to display his collections. He bought the Castle in 1955 for around £6,000, with a full bank loan, and opened it to the public the following year. For a small fee, visitors could enter the Castle, peer at the dusty objects crowded into antique wooden cabinets and occasionally receive a tour from Denys himself. He arranged the displays, wrote the labels by hand, and sold tickets. Denys was very proud of his collections, but he rarely revealed to his visitors that he was the owner.

Denys sitting at the ticket desk

In 1957, Denys was arrested and sentenced to imprisonment in Wormwood Scrubs prison for the attempted murder of his fiancée. Denys took an antique revolver to her home after she decided to break off their engagement, which he claimed accidentally went off. Thinking that he had killed her, he then turned the gun on himself. They were both injured but survived the incident. At the time when he was imprisoned, Denys had not paid back the loan for the castle. He contacted the bank, explaining his situation. They contacted a lawyer called Ruth Eldridge for help. She and her sister Mary managed the care of the Castle and collections. Ruth secured his release in 1962 after a review of his case. The Eldridge sisters took on the job of looking after Denys and the Castle following his release and began work to restore the building to make it fit for visitors once more.

Denys returned to live at the Castle and died in 1977. He was known in the area for being an eccentric character and wasn’t particularly good at managing his money or maintaining the house. He kept the Castle going by selling entry tickets and an occasional object from his collections. The Eldridge sisters remained his close friends and worked tirelessly to look after the Castle after Denys’ death, establishing the charitable trust to fulfil his wish to continue sharing the Castle and his collections with the nation.

You can read more about Denys Eyre Bower’s life at the Castle and in the book Beyond Belief by Mary Eldridge.