East Lambrook Manor
East Lambrook Manor is a small 15th-century manor house in East Lambrook, Somerset, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building,[1] and is surrounded by a 'cottage garden' planted by Margery Fish from 1938 until her death in 1969.[2] The garden is Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.[3]
House
The two-storey house, was originally built as an open hall-house. It was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1959,[1] was built of Somerset hamstone in the 15th and 16th centuries.[4] It was a disused chicken farm, built of limestone, which had fallen into disrepair until the restoration in the 1930s.[4][5]
Garden
| East Lambrook Manor Gardens | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Cottage Garden |
| Location | East Lambrook, Somerset, England |
| Coordinates | 50°58′00″N 2°48′40″W / 50.9667°N 2.811°W |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Plants | Geraniums, euphorbias, helleborus, snowdrops, roses, rare and unusual cottage garden plants |
| Collections | National Collection of Geraniums |
| Website | http://www.eastlambrook.co.uk/ |
Margery Fish and her husband Walter Fish bought East Lambrook Manor in 1937 for £1000. They had several terraces constructed in 1938.[6] She described the informal planting style as "jungle gardening".[7] She wrote several books on cottage gardens. She laid out the 2 acres (0.81 ha) gardens, which hold the National Collection of Geraniums,[8] and a collection of snowdrops.[9]
Several varieties of plants are named after the garden, including a silver-leafed wormwood, Artemisia absinthium 'Lambrook Silver',[10] a spurge, Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii, 'Lambrook Gold', and a primrose Primula, 'Lambrook Mauve'.[11]
The garden has been restored since 1985 into the state it was left at the time of Fish's death in 1969.[12] It was awarded Grade I status by English Heritage in 1992.[13] In 2011, the gardens were opened for a horticulture course, the East Lambrook Diploma in Horticulture, which covers both theoretical and practical gardening.[14]
East Lambrook Manor gardens are open to the public for nine months of the year, usually from Tuesday to Saturday.[15] It is entered through the Malthouse, a stone building within the gardens which also contains a gallery and a café. Behind the Malthouse is an area known as the Ditch, which originally had water flowing through it. There Fish planted moisture-loving plants, but as the water no longer flows through the Ditch, it has been replanted as a sunken garden. To the east of the house is the Silver Garden, which includes Mediterranean plants, often with silver leaves.[16]
External source
- The official East Lambrook Manor Gardens website: Retrieved 22 June 2018.
References
- ^ a b Historic England. "East Lambrook Manor and forecourt wall (1264346)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- ^ "East Lambrook Manor Gardens". Visit Somerset. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ^ Historic England. "East Lambrook Manor (1001247)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ^ a b "East Lambrook Manor Garden, East Lambrook". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ^ Ford, Sarah (1 June 2015). "East Lambrook Manor Gardens". Somerset Life. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ "East Lambrook Manor, Taunton, England". Parks & Gardens UK. Parks and Gardens Data Services. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ^ Bond, James (1998). Somerset Parks and Gardens. Somerset Books. p. 140. ISBN 978-0861834655.
- ^ "East Lambrook Manor Garden". Gardenvisit.com. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- ^ Bourne, Val (2008-01-04). "Snowdrops: White magic". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ^ Plumptree, George (1985). Collins Book of British Gardens. London: Collins. pp. 272–273. ISBN 0002166410.
- ^ Howcroft, Heidi (2015). First Ladies of Gardening: Designers, Dreamers and Divas. Frances Lincoln. ISBN 9781781011959.
- ^ "East Lambrook Manor Garden". Sisley Garden Tours. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ^ "East Lambrook Manor Gardens leaflet" (PDF). Somerset Routes. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ^ Sowden, Steve (27 August 2011). "East Lambrook diploma is a hit with students". This is the west country. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ Admissions Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ Clayton, Phil (June 2014). "The Garden: East Lambrook Manor Gardens" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. pp. 42–43. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
