Sissinghurst Castle Garden
Encyclopedia
The garden at Sissinghurst Castle in the Weald
of Kent
, near Cranbrook
, Goudhurst
and Tenterden
, is owned and maintained by the National Trust
. It is among the most famous gardens in England.
Sissinghurst's garden was created in the 1930s by Vita Sackville-West
, poet and gardening writer, and her husband Harold Nicolson
, author and diplomat. Sackville-West was a writer on the fringes of the Bloomsbury Group
who found her greatest popularity in the weekly columns she contributed as gardening correspondent of The Observer
, which incidentally—for she never touted it—made her own garden famous. Sissinghurst's garden
is one of the best-loved in the whole of the United Kingdom
, drawing visitors from all over the world. The garden itself is designed as a series of "rooms", each with a different character of colour and/or theme, the walls being high clipped hedge
s and many pink brick walls. The rooms and "doors" are so arranged that, as one enjoys the beauty in a given room, one suddenly discovers a new vista into another part of the garden, making a walk a series of discoveries that keeps leading one into yet another area of the garden. Nicolson spent his efforts coming up with interesting new interconnections, while Sackville-West focused on making the flowers in the interior of each room exciting.
The site is ancient— "hurst" is the Saxon term for "an enclosed wood". A manorhouse with a three-armed moat was built here in the Middle Ages
.By 1305, Sissinghurst was impressive enough for King Edward I to spend the night. In 1490, Thomas Baker purchased Sissinghurst. The house was given a new brick gatehouse in the 1530s by Sir John Baker
, one of Henry VIII's Privy Councillors, and hugely enlarged in the 1560s by his son Sir Richard Baker, when it became the centre of a 700 acres (2.8 km²) deer park. In 1573, Queen Elizabeth I spent three nights at Sissinghurst.
For Sackville-West, Sissinghurst and its garden rooms came to be a poignant and romantic substitute for Knole, reputedly the largest house in Britain, which as the only child of Lionel, the 3rd Lord Sackville
she would have inherited had she been a male, but which had passed to her uncle as the male heir.
After the collapse of the Baker family in the late 17th century, the building had many uses: as a prisoner-of-war camp during the Seven Years' War
; as the workhouse for the Cranbrook Union; after which it became homes for farm labourers.
Sackville-West and Nicolson found Sissinghurst in 1930 after concern that their property Long Barn, near Sevenoaks
, Kent, was close to development over which they had no control. Although Sissinghurst was derelict, they purchased the ruins and the farm around it and began constructing the garden we know today. The layout by Nicolson and planting by Sackville-West were both strongly influenced by the gardens of:
Sissinghurst was first opened to the public in 1938.
broadcast an eight-part television documentary series called Sissinghurst. It describes the house and garden and the attempts by Adam Nicolson and his wife Sarah Raven
, who are Resident Donors, in partnership with the National Trust, to restore a form of traditional Wealden agriculture to the Castle Farm. Their plan is to use the land to grow ingredients for lunches in the Sissinghurst restaurant. A fuller version of the same story can be found in Nicolson's book, Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History (2008).
Weald
The Weald is the name given to an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It should be regarded as three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre; the clay "Low Weald" periphery; and the Greensand Ridge which...
of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, near Cranbrook
Cranbrook, Kent
Cranbrook is a small town in Kent in South East England which was granted a charter in 1290 by Archbishop Peckham, allowing it to hold a market in the High Street. Located on the Maidstone to Hastings road, it is five miles north of Hawkhurst. The smaller settlements of Swattenden, Colliers...
, Goudhurst
Goudhurst
Goudhurst is a village in Kent on the Weald, about south of Maidstone.It stands on a crossroads , where there is a large village pond. It is also in the Cranbrook School catchment area....
and Tenterden
Tenterden
Tenterden is a Cinque Port town in the Ashford District of Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother....
, is owned and maintained by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. It is among the most famous gardens in England.
History
Vita Sackville-West
The Hon Victoria Mary Sackville-West, Lady Nicolson, CH , best known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author, poet and gardener. She won the Hawthornden Prize in 1927 and 1933...
, poet and gardening writer, and her husband Harold Nicolson
Harold Nicolson
Sir Harold George Nicolson KCVO CMG was an English diplomat, author, diarist and politician. He was the husband of writer Vita Sackville-West, their unusual relationship being described in their son's book, Portrait of a Marriage.-Early life:Nicolson was born in Tehran, Persia, the younger son of...
, author and diplomat. Sackville-West was a writer on the fringes of the Bloomsbury Group
Bloomsbury Group
The Bloomsbury Group or Bloomsbury Set was a group of writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists who held informal discussions in Bloomsbury throughout the 20th century. This English collective of friends and relatives lived, worked or studied near Bloomsbury in London during the first half...
who found her greatest popularity in the weekly columns she contributed as gardening correspondent of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, which incidentally—for she never touted it—made her own garden famous. Sissinghurst's garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
is one of the best-loved in the whole of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, drawing visitors from all over the world. The garden itself is designed as a series of "rooms", each with a different character of colour and/or theme, the walls being high clipped hedge
Hedge (gardening)
A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and tree species, planted and trained in such a way as to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area. Hedges used to separate a road from adjoining fields or one field from another, and of sufficient age to incorporate larger trees, are...
s and many pink brick walls. The rooms and "doors" are so arranged that, as one enjoys the beauty in a given room, one suddenly discovers a new vista into another part of the garden, making a walk a series of discoveries that keeps leading one into yet another area of the garden. Nicolson spent his efforts coming up with interesting new interconnections, while Sackville-West focused on making the flowers in the interior of each room exciting.
The site is ancient— "hurst" is the Saxon term for "an enclosed wood". A manorhouse with a three-armed moat was built here in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
.By 1305, Sissinghurst was impressive enough for King Edward I to spend the night. In 1490, Thomas Baker purchased Sissinghurst. The house was given a new brick gatehouse in the 1530s by Sir John Baker
John Baker (English statesman)
Sir John Baker was an English politician, and served as a Chancellor of the Exchequer, having previously been Speaker of the House of Commons of England.-Early life:...
, one of Henry VIII's Privy Councillors, and hugely enlarged in the 1560s by his son Sir Richard Baker, when it became the centre of a 700 acres (2.8 km²) deer park. In 1573, Queen Elizabeth I spent three nights at Sissinghurst.
For Sackville-West, Sissinghurst and its garden rooms came to be a poignant and romantic substitute for Knole, reputedly the largest house in Britain, which as the only child of Lionel, the 3rd Lord Sackville
Lionel Sackville-West, 3rd Baron Sackville
Lionel Edward Sackville-West, 3rd Baron Sackville , was a British peer.Sackville-West was the son of the Honourable William Edward Sackville-West, sixth son of George Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr and Lady Elizabeth Sackville. His mother was Georgina, daughter of George Dodwell...
she would have inherited had she been a male, but which had passed to her uncle as the male heir.
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
; as the workhouse for the Cranbrook Union; after which it became homes for farm labourers.
Sackville-West and Nicolson found Sissinghurst in 1930 after concern that their property Long Barn, near Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
, Kent, was close to development over which they had no control. Although Sissinghurst was derelict, they purchased the ruins and the farm around it and began constructing the garden we know today. The layout by Nicolson and planting by Sackville-West were both strongly influenced by the gardens of:
- Gertrude JekyllGertrude JekyllGertrude Jekyll was an influential British garden designer, writer, and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA and contributed over 1,000 articles to Country Life, The Garden and other magazines.-Early life:...
and Edwin LutyensEdwin LutyensSir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era... - the earlier Cothay ManorCothay ManorCothay Manor is a grade one listed medieval house and gardens, located in Stawley, near Wellington, Somerset.In early 14th century the local lords of the manor were the Bluett and Cothay families who owned both the nearby Greenham Barton and Cothay Manor....
in SomersetSomersetThe ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
laid out by Nicolson's friend Colonel Reginald Cooper DSO. Cothay was later described by one garden writer as the "Sissinghurst of the West Country." - Hidcote Manor GardenHidcote Manor GardenHidcote Manor Garden is a garden located on the outskirts of the small village of Hidcote Bartrim, near Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, England and owned by the National Trust....
, designed and owned by Lawrence JohnstonLawrence JohnstonMajor Lawrence Waterbury Johnston was a British soldier and garden creator.- Early years & military career :Johnston was born in Paris, France, into a family of wealthy American East Coast stockbrokers from Baltimore. He went to England to study at Trinity College, Cambridge. Soon after his...
, which Vita Sackville-West was instrumental in preserving.
Sissinghurst was first opened to the public in 1938.
Today
The National Trust took over the whole of Sissinghurst, its garden, farm and buildings, in 1967. The garden epitomises the English garden of the mid-20th century. It is now very popular and hence can be very crowded in peak holiday periods. In 2009 BBC FourBBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
broadcast an eight-part television documentary series called Sissinghurst. It describes the house and garden and the attempts by Adam Nicolson and his wife Sarah Raven
Sarah Raven
Sarah Clare Raven is an English gardener, writer and television presenter.She was born in Cambridge, the daughter of John Earle Raven Sarah Clare Raven (born 1963) is an English gardener, writer and television presenter.She was born in Cambridge, the daughter of John Earle Raven Sarah Clare...
, who are Resident Donors, in partnership with the National Trust, to restore a form of traditional Wealden agriculture to the Castle Farm. Their plan is to use the land to grow ingredients for lunches in the Sissinghurst restaurant. A fuller version of the same story can be found in Nicolson's book, Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History (2008).
See also
- History of gardeningHistory of gardeningThe history of ornamental gardening may be considered as aesthetic expressions of beauty through art and nature, a display of taste or style in civilized life, an expression of an individual's or culture's philosophy, and sometimes as a display of private status or national pride—in private...
(with a list of notable historical gardens)
Further reading
- Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History by Adam NicolsonAdam NicolsonAdam Nicolson, Baron Carnock, FRSL, FSA , is a British author who writes about English history, landscape and the sea....
(2008). HarperPress. ISBN 0007240546.