Shoulden Lodge is now Sholden Hall Residential Home. Edward Richard Rupert George Banks lived here for 69 years, reaching the age of 90.

He was grandson of Sir Edwards Banks who with his firm Banks and Jolliffe constructed London Bridge, which was dismantled in 1971 stone by stone when sold to America.

Edward Banks concerned himself in village life and was generous to those less fortunate people around him. He gave the land for Sholden School to be built, was a JP and a Church Warden for the Church of St. Nicholas.

He was a keen sportsman, playing cricket for Kent against Surrey at the Oval in 1846 and made the highest score for Kent in that match. He also turned out for Kent against England at Canterbury in August 1845.

Mr. Banks became famous for his Fuchsias, introducing 177 new cultivars in his large glass-house within the spacious grounds of Shoulden Lodge, assisted by ten gardeners. In 1868 a new Fuchsia named Beauty of Sholden was adopted as the emblem of the Fuchsia Society; it is his ‘forget-me-not’.

For more information see: https://sholdenhall.co.uk/history/