- Heritage

Kingston Bagpuize House

A family home, this beautiful house originally built in the 1660s was remodelled in the early 1700s in red brick with stone facings with a cantilevered staircase. New for 2011 see how Robert Mattock is establishing his significant collection of rare roses in the 2 1/2 acre walled garden and park already notable for its important collection of rare cultivated plants and trees. See rare snowdrops during February; followed by a collection of magnolias in March and wisterias during late April; old garden and specie roses in May and June; herbaceous borders in July and autumn colour and rose hips in September. The collection of Silk Road Hybrids in the new Mattock Rose Garden is being designed to illustrate how those roses that spread from China to Rome by 500 BC gave the western world roses that smell, and flower, so beautifully all summer long. Connecting the history of the house, the history of the Mattock family and the long horticultural tradition of Kingston Bagpuize and its adjoining parishes is a new exhibition of old photographs, catalogues, horticultural tools and machinery. Specialist horticultural tools, books and equipment may be bought in our garden shop…

Loseley Park

Loseley Park, built in 1562 by Sir William More to entertain Queen Elizabeth I, is a fine example of Elizabethan architecture - its mellow stone brought from the ruins of Waverley Abbey now over 850 years old. The house is set amid magnificent parkland grazed by the Loseley Jersey herd. Many visitors comment on the very friendly atmosphere of the house. It is a country house, the family home of descendants of the builder. Furniture, paintings and artefacts have been collected by the family since Loseley was built, including panelling from Nonsuch Palace, English and European furniture, a unique chalk fireplace and porcelain from the East. However, with all the history, it is still a family home. Loseley Park is a stunning wedding venue with ceremonies in the Great Hall and receptions in the 17th century Tithe Barn. There are also flexible facilities for corporate and private functions. Highly rated film location. Christian Cancer/Parkinson’s Disease Help Centre. Garden A magnificent Cedar of Lebanon presides over the front lawn. Parkland adjoins the lawn and a small lake adds to the beauty of Front Park. Walled Garden: Based on a Gertrude Jekyll design, the five gardens include the award-winning rose garden containing over 1,000 bushes, a magnificent vine walk, herb garden, colourful fruit and flower garden and the serene white garden. Other features include an organic vegetable garden and moat walk. HDRA Seed Library plants…

Goodwood House

Goodwood is one of England’s finest sporting estates. At its heart lies Goodwood House, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Richmond and Gordon, direct descendants of King Charles II. Today, it is lived in by the present Duke’s son and heir, the Earl of March and Kinrara, with his wife and family. Their home is open to the public on at least 60 days a year. The art collection includes a magnificent group of British paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries, such as the celebrated views of London by Canaletto and superb sporting scenes by George Stubbs. The rooms are filled with fine English and French furniture, Gobelins tapestries and Sevres porcelain. Special works of art are regularly rotated and displayed and the books can be viewed by written application to the Curator (there is a special charge for these viewings). The summer exhibition in 2011, entitled ‘The Horse’, will look at the role horses have played in Goodwood’s history. They are well represented in its art collection, from the great Wootton paintings of the 2nd Duke of Richmond’s hunters to Dame Elizabeth Frink’s lifesize bronze of a racehorse. Goodwood is also renowned for its entertaining, enjoying a reputation for excellence. Goodwood’s own organic farm provides food for the table in the various restaurants on the estate. With internationally renowned horseracing and motor sport events, the finest Downland golf course in the UK, its own Aerodrome and hotel, Goodwood offers an extraordinarily rich sporting experience…

Cowdray - Historic Tudor House

Award winning Cowdray is one of southern England’s most important early Tudor courtier’s houses, visited by King Henry VIII & Queen Elizabeth I. Partially destroyed by fire in 1793, its magnificant ruins are set in the stunning landscaped grounds of Cowdray Park…

Glynde Place

Glynde Place is a magnificent example of Elizabethan architecture commanding exceptionally fine views of the South Downs. Amongst the collections of 400 years of family living can be seen 17th and 18th century portraits of the Trevors, furniture,embroidery and silver…

St Mary's House and Gardens

Features in Simon Jenkins’ book ‘England’s Thousand Best Houses’. St. Mary’s is an enchanting, medieval timber-framed house, with fine panelled interiors, including the unique Elizabethan ‘Painted Room’, giving an air of tranquillity and timelessness. Interesting displays of family memorabilia and rare Napoleonic collection. The formal gardens with amusing topiary, include an exceptional example of the prehistoric Ginkgo Biloba, magnificent Magnolia Grandiflora. The five acres of grounds include the Victorian ‘Secret’ Garden with original fruit wall and pineapple pits, Rural Museum, Jubilee Rose Garden, Terracotta Garden, Woodland Walk leading to Landscape Water Garden with island and dramatic waterfall and unusual circular Poetry Garden. In the heart of the South Downs National Park, St. Mary’s is a house of fascination and mystery, with picturesque charm and atmosphere of friendliness and welcome…

Newby Hall & Gardens

The home of Richard and Lucinda Compton, Newby Hall is one of England’s renowned Adam houses. In the 1760s William Weddell, an ancestor of the Comptons, acquired a magnificent collection of Ancient Roman sculpture and Gobelins tapestries. He commissioned Robert Adam to alter the original Wren designed house and Thomas Chippendale to make furniture. The result is a perfect example of the Georgian ‘Age of Elegance’ with the atmosphere and ambience of a family home. Gardens 25 acres of stunning award-winning gardens contain rare and beautiful shrubs and plants, including a National collection of the Genus Cornus (Dogwoods). Newby’s famous double herbaceous borders, framed by great bastions of yew hedges, make the perfect walkway to the River Ure. Formal gardens such as the Autumn and Rose Garden, the tranquillity of Sylvia’s Garden and the Tropical Garden make Newby an inspiring and exciting place to explore. Walking through the curved pergolas leads to the Victorian Rock garden, which is an enchanting magical space for all ages. The gardens feature an exciting children’s adventure garden and miniature railway. From 1st June there is an annual exhibition of contemporary sculptures in the mature woodland…

Ripley Castle

Ripley Castle has been the home of the Ingilby family for twenty-six generations and Sir Thomas and Lady Ingilby, together with their five children, continue the tradition. The guided tours are amusing and informative, following the lives and loves of one family for 700 years and how they have been affected by events in English history. The Old Tower dates from 1555 and houses splendid armour, books, panelling and a Priest’s Secret Hiding Place, together with fine paintings, china, furnishings and chandeliers collected by the family over the centuries. The extensive Victorian Walled Gardens have been transformed and are a colourful delight through every season. In the Spring you can appreciate 150,000 flowering bulbs which create a blaze of colour through the woodland walks, and also the National Hyacinth Collection whose scent is breathtaking. The restored Hot Houses have an extensive tropical plant collection, and in the Kitchen Gardens you can see an extensive collection of rare vegetables from the Henry Doubleday Research Association. Ripley village on the Castle’s doorstep is a model estate village with individual charming shops, an art gallery, delicatessen and Farmyard Museum…

Aske Hall

A predominantly Georgian collection of paintings, furniture and porcelain in house which has been the seat of the Dundas family since 1763…

Burton Agnes Hall & Gardens

A lovely Elizabethan Hall containing treasures collected by the family over four centuries, from the original carving and plasterwork to modern and Impressionist paintings. The Hall is surrounded by lawns and topiary yew. The award-winning gardens contain a maze, potager, jungle garden, campanula collection and colour gardens incorporating giant game boards. Children’s corner…