Mr and Mrs Hewitt took on the lease of The Friars from the Earl of Aylesford in 1914, who lived in Pakington Hall, Coventry. The Hewitt's paid £150 per annum for the lease. Mrs Hewitt’s mother, Mrs Woolsey who came from Ashville, North Carolina, America, also lived at The Friars. Her family traced an ancestor of the name Bradford who came over on the Mayflower. She was related to President Franklin Roosevelt.

Mr Copley Hewitt was the County Commissioner of the Scouts while Mrs Alice Hewitt was the Medway Divisional Commissioner of the Girl Guides. They were personal friends of Lord Baden-Powell who came to The Friars for gatherings of both the Scouts and Guides. I like to think that they would be pleased that the Aylesford Scouts still meet here.

The Hewitt family desired to buy The Friars outright but there were several obstacles to overcome, such as fixtures that the Aylesford family wished to remove and the valuation of the estate. The old Earl died in 1924 and as the new Earl was a minor, trustees administered the estate. One letter sent by Lady Aylesford is worthy of Maggie Smith of Downton Abbey: “It is a bigger trouble than you can imagine selling The Friars, but there is one great consolation, you do not belong to “the new rich” and are in every way worthy of the dear old place and everything you have done has been in such perfect taste and in keeping with the old place that it lessens the pain of parting with it.” The saddest letter was written the day after the fire of 30^th June 1930 by Mr Copley Hewitt to the Aylesford family: “It is with the deepest regret that I write to let you know that The Friars was destroyed by fire yesterday morning. You can imagine what a grief it is to us who loved the place so and spent so much upon it in our desire to keep it so beautiful and as it was. The origin of the outbreak is unknown.”

Mrs Hewitt had her two nieces staying with her at that time, one of whom, Diana, was a debutante that year. Some of her ball dresses were singed during the fire. Even though the Hewitts had lost their home due to the fire, a few days later Diana was taken to London to have her dresses repaired.

The Hewitt family finally bought The Friars in 1932. They set about restoring what fire had destroyed. The fire had revealed some of the medieval characteristics of the place that had been covered up by previous owners. The Hewitts restored the place in keeping with the original building, rather than replacing what had been destroyed. You can still see the fine gothic windows over the cloisters.

During the war soldiers were billeted at The Friars on their way to the D-Day landings. Mrs Hewitt created a chapel that is now the Cloister Chapel for the use of the soldiers. The Bishop of Rochester formally consecrated it. There is a memorial to Mrs Hewitt in the chapel. For some of our pilgrims it is their favourite chapel.

Mrs Hewitt was always very welcoming to the visiting Carmelites who came from the nearby parishes of Faversham and Sittingbourne. Fr Malachy wrote of a visit to The Friars with the then Prior General, Elias Magennis. Though there was a large Girl Guides gathering and even with the Archbishop of Canterbury present, “Mrs Hewitt gave a great welcome to the Prior General. Despite all the other distinguished visitors on that occasion she clung on to him eagerly and they got on very well together. This was not surprising. He was a personality. I remember Mrs Hewitt as a spiritual woman, gentle and wistful and aware of the timelessness of prayer.” 

Francis Kemsley O.Carm