One of the great gardens of the 20th century.
The formal garden extends to 12 acres and sits within an 80 acre park itself, contained within the 1550 acre estate. The Church is not part of the National Trust estate but please feel free to break your tour and visit.
Ralph Dutton believed the ancient oaks that can be seen in and around the car-park to be upward of 500 years old. In replanting the park, he was anxious that his own 'little plantations shall not develop into clumps, but into groups of trees. That is to say that each tree shall keep its natural form. This entails, of course, constant thinning, a few trees every year.' As he suspected, it has not been easy to achieve this effect, but it is discernible in some of the clumps. Access to the Park can be gained via the cattle-grids at the west end of the Long Walk and at the top of the Lime Avenue. Views of the house and garden from the park illustrate Ralph Dutton's concern to ensure that his garden appeared as an organic component of its surroundings.
The walled garden was created in the 1860s on the site of the kitchen garden which provided for the house from the 17th century. It was closed for twenty years, being the tenant's private garden, and was opened to the public for the first time in 2006. It also saw the start of the restoration programme. The tennis court, in the north-west corner, was removed in the winter of 2006 and is now the vegetable garden. The swimming pool that was in front of the visitor centre was filled in and grassed during that Autumn. The visitor centre and shop, formerly an Orchid House, were opened in December 2006. The greenhouses have been restored and dependent on money (donations) thhose lost in the 1987 'hurricane' will be re-instated.
The north vista overlooks the site of the Civil War, Battle of Cheriton (29 March 1644) from what were the Parliamentarian lines.
