Gardens

We find that visitors regard our gardens as wonderful to look at as they are now – as opposed to gardens that one day might be wonderful. The attraction is not only the excellent Long Garden, Walled Kitchen Garden and Rock Garden but also the lawns and the whole historic arrangement of the gardens with their views out to the distant landscape. The fact that the restoration of the paths and terraces has still a long way to go does not seem to detract. It will be a further bonus when they are restored while the “work in progress” on these parts only adds to the interest.

In more detail, we have been making efforts for some time to resolve the chaos at the end of the causeway where the grand stone staircases were dismantled around 1950 (see photo below). These staircases were built over extensive support structures and over the years these had become full of broken stonework, dumped soil, rubble and self-sown sycamores which had grown into the foundations. The huge task of excavating and sorting out all this material is now complete thanks to heroic efforts by volunteers – in particular an exceptionally dedicated retired sergeant major. Any disrupted foundations have been secured with cast concrete. Once we had dug out the basement void, we installed a number of reinforced concrete beams to support the reinstated stone slabs which were once part of the viewing platform. The work was funded by a kind donation from Mr and Mrs Barnes in response to the last Wish List.

Elsewhere we have started the restoration of a number of paths. Two paths in the Walled Kitchen Garden have been cleared and one fitted with timber edgings. Work is advancing on the grand approach path to the Long Garden. Restoration of the perimeter path to the southern lower platform of the Terraces has been continued by one volunteer who has also created the beautiful bed adjacent to this path against the south wall of the causeway. The path immediately to the west of the northern lower Terrace has been further improved. The bed of irises adjacent - which can be seen in old photographs - has been re-established.

The circular philadelphus “room” on the Lower Great Lawn has been further strengthened by new growth following careful pruning. Work has resumed on the adjacent pleached lime walk and will be continued later in the year. The holly hedge nearby, along the west side of the Lower Great Lawn, has just been pruned again and is gradually returning to its original form. In the Walled Kitchen Garden the first glasshouse to be restored is now used for growing and work on two further glasshouses is proceeding.

Photo: Peter Gamble