Gatton Park visit Feb 2024 by Helen Parvin
Ostensibly we went to see snowdrops but were treated to so much more. Both Upper and Lower Gatton Park gardens and Gatton Hall are listed as Grade II. We were treated to a very informative tour and talk around the restored and conserved parts of the gardens also.
Learning about the restoration of the Pulhamite Pond
It was raining on the day of our visit but our guide, Martin, bravely toured us around the conserved Pulhamite rock garden. The smell from the Daphne was heady as we carefully picked our way down the wet slopes and steps to the pool and rock garden below. We admired the snowdrops on the way through. The rock garden is built into a steep wooded slope.
Recently Restored Pulhamite Rock Garden
Then we walked over to see the Japanese garden which was restored many years ago; Monty Don filmed ‘Lost Gardens’ in 1999 about it. This is not laid out in a way that the Japanese would recognise as a ‘Japanese’ garden but rather like he English version made so popular at the end of the 19th century. Landscape gardeners Milner & White designed the space, which is located a bit of a walk away from the Hall. The mosses on the stone lanterns and several English plantings such as primroses along with the bright red painted Japanese bridge were much clearer to appreciate due to them being wet.
Stone lantern in Japanese Garden
The final part of the tour was to see the rectangular pool and quiet contemplative secret garden within the ‘wild’ area that is currently undergoing a programme of restoration. Much more funding is needed to reinstate the pool, paths and yew hedges and re-create the garden scene as illustrated in Country Life magazine in the 1920s.
The MP and merchant banker Sir George Colebrook was responsible for engaging Capability Brown in the 1760s to sweep away the formal gardens and create the stunning landscape views of the lake, tree belts and surviving specimen trees we see today.
Views of the Capability Brown landscape from Terrace of Gatton Hall
We were given a slide presentation whilst we enjoyed our coffee and cake reception on the history of Gatton. We learned of the many owners including Ann of Cleves through to the Colman family (of mustard fame). The Hall succumbed to fire in 1934, was rebuilt and extended and then used as a School. The gardens became neglected from the 1950s onwards and thanks to volunteers started to be cleared and restored from the mid 1960s. There were snowdrops to buy afterwards; mine are now planted beneath one of my Oaks and will remind me of the visit each year I see them in bloom.
Photo credits: Helen Parvin