Built / Designed For: Sir David Salomons

House & Family History: Salomons, then called Broomhill, was built for Sir David Salomons, the first Jewish lord mayor of London (served 1855). In 1851 Sir David was elected as a Liberal MP for Greenwich. He took his oath, omitting the words "on the true faith of a Christian," and took his seat in parliament. He later stood and spoke (the first Jew ever to speak in parliament) and voted three times before he was removed by the serjeant-at-arms and fined £500 for voting illegally. The law requiring members of parliament to swear an oath "on the true faith of a Christian" was changed in 1858 and Sir David continued to sit in parliament until his death in 1873. The bench from which he rose to speak to the House of Commons in 1851 is today in the Salomons Museum, which occupies two rooms of the house. Sir David had no children; thus, on his death, his estate was inherited by his nephew, Sir David Lionel Salomons, a noted horologist and pioneer in the use of electricity (he developed one of the first electric cooking devices). In 1937 Vera Salomons donated the house and estate to Kent County Council, who opened Salomons as a convalescent home for women and girls in 1938. During World War II, in addition to its service as a home for women and girls, the house also became a recovery center for wounded soldiers. In 1948 Salomons became a part of the newly-formed National Health Service as a convalescent home for women, a purpose it served until 1972. From the mid-1970s until 1996 the house and grounds were the government-run East Thames Regional Conference and Training Centre. In 1998 Salomons became Canterbury Christ Church University, a health care campus that primarily taught clinical psychology here until 2013, when Salomons was acquired by the Markerstudy Group. Under Markerstudy Leisure the house is operated primarily as a wedding and event venue; the company does open the part of the house to the public for free as the Salomons Museum.

Collections: Most of the contents of the house were sold at auction in 1936. Sir David Lionel amassed the world's largest private collection of Breguet watches and clocks (124 pieces); the majority of the collection is today at the L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art in Jerusalem. The Salomons Museum contains Sir David Lionel's collections of Judaica, hot air ballooning memorabilia, early automobiles, and writings on electrical and scientific subjects.

Garden & Outbuildings: In the theater, built for the demonstration of machinery, is a Welte of Hamburg Philharmonic organ, the earliest and largest electric organ in the world (it was restored to working order in the early 21st century). In 1905 the world's first motor show was held in the grounds of Salomons. In 2001 the Grade II*- listed Stableblock was renamed Runcie Court and converted to offices, teaching spaces, and a library. In 2004 the coach houses were converted into a restaurant that is open to the public.

House Listed: Grade II

Park Listed: Not Listed

Past Seat / Home of: Sir David Salomons, 1st Bt., 1829-73; Sir David Lionel Goldsmid-Stern-Salomons, 2nd Bt., 1873-1925; Salomons family here until 1936.

Current Ownership Type: Corporation

Primary Current Ownership Use: Wedding & Event Venue

Ownership Details: Owned by the Markerstudy Group, who operate the house primarily as an event venue. The Salomons Museum is open to the public for free.

House Open to Public: By Appointment

Phone: 01892-628-961

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.salomons-estate.com

Historic Houses Member: No