17th-century style gardens
We have laid out the beautiful garden in a style fashionable in the early 17th century. It contains a wide range of carefully researched and fully labelled trees and plants.
The labels share interesting and entertaining information, perfect for garden enthusiasts, home schooling and learning at every age.
Carefully researched
None of the original gardens have survived years of farming, hence, the gardens you see were first laid out in the 1990s. Then after careful research into 17th-century-style gardens they were updated in 2015. Almost all the plants we now grow also existed in the local area at the time. The only exception is the orchard, which includes some more modern plants.
Our dedicated garden volunteers studied what a rich country-gentry family would have grown in this fashionable garden, allowing us to show you how it might have looked at the time. All areas of the garden would have held a purpose for the household. Even the decorative areas were important because they showed the status of the family.
Well stocked and labelled
The garden itself comprises a series of room-like plots, divided up by clipped yew hedges.
The garden rooms include working plant beds, herb and vegetable gardens, a heritage orchard, an ornamental maze, and ‘wilderness’ areas. Each garden room is well-stocked, and our volunteers have labelled every plant and tree explaining their uses.
Our volunteers
The Friends of the 1620s House & Garden fund our team of enthusiastic volunteers maintain and develop the gardens.
Recent projects include, for example, creating the pond, to bring more wildlife into the garden. Additionally, the volunteers also develop entertaining and informative children’s trails.
Visitors can find information about the garden in Garden Guides which we keep in the Old Barn Tearoom.
We have created a several short films to highlight the history of how the garden developed from farmyard to the 1620s-style garden you can see today.
We also have short videos about each of the ‘garden rooms’ including:
Please note these films do not currently carry subtitles, but you would like subtitles, you can activate them through YouTube.
Featured plant of the season
Discover one of our amazing plants in its peak season.
Featured seasonal plant page