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Did you miss it?

Tuesday 6th July saw the second Summer Event 2021 organized by Rosemary Jury (Chair & Events Organiser) at The Manor House, Bledlow for forty members and guests. The Head Gardener, Mark Thompson met the group at the entrance and Rupert, Lord Carrington gave us an excellent introductory talk about the history of the garden and the site before dashing off to a virtual House of Lords sitting. His parents Lord and Lady Carrington had been Life Members of the Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust.
Map of gardens taken from leaflet.

Everyone was given a map and information about the gardens and then set off in the direction of the south garden and magnificent walled garden. We were allowed to view the gardens at our will and see from the outside the complete renovation and restoration  of the Manor House that is taking place.

History The Manor House was built in the mid-17th century by the Blancks family and descended through the female line to the wife of Samuel Whitbread, the brewer, from whom it was purchased at the end of the 18th century by the first Lord Carrington, who lived at Wycombe Abbey, as the house of his eldest son. The house was added to and considerably altered in 1700 and in about 1800 when the windows on the north side were replaced. Subsequently the house became a school, a farmhouse and, during the Second World War, that part of the house not occupied by the tenant farmer was turned into flats. In 1946 the sixth Lord and Lady Carrington moved into and restored the house and planned and laid out the present garden. In 2021, once the major renovation is completed, included adding back the original cornice on the East front and reopening several windows, the seventh Lord and Lady Carrington will move in.
Walled garden.(c) Nepete border from pergola. JuG

 

St Peter (G) JUG

Statement of Significance taken from the The Manor House, Bledlow site dossier https://bucksgardenstrust.org.uk/research-and-recording/locally-important-sites/

Overview A complex modern country house garden where strong design in a variety of styles, character and appearance is matched by adventurous and colourful planting. It is the vision of Lord and Lady Carrington from the 1950s to the present, commissioning designer Robert Adams from the late 1960s onwards in a series of designs, to make the most of the opportunities relating to the C17‐C18 Manor House and its surroundings.

The 1980s Lyde is a rare detached water garden of this period in informal style, of particular interest. The whole garden, a sequence of contrasting linked compartments, survives complete and in good condition, and is still undergoing development alongside a small contemporary park.

Archaeological interest Archaeological potential is largely related to the farmstead and a Chiltern manor house and its setting up to the mid‐C20, and features relating to the former uses of The Lyde.

Architectural interest The Manor House is a typical brick‐built Chiltern manor house with much work of the mid‐C17 and early C18, similar to others nearby such as Princes Risborough. The remaining early farmstead buildings are typical of the area, being timber framed and clad.

Three fish ponds. ( I) JuG

Artistic interest The complex garden is the vision of the owners(Lord and Lady Peter Carrington) in partnership with designer Robert Adams, who together have developed it over a number of decades. The many linked compartments adopt a variety of styles with both traditional and innovative planting. It has been widely reported and represents one of the best later C20 gardens of its type, comparable with others such as Rosemary Verey’s Barnsley Manor, and Highgrove, both Gloucestershire.

The garden divides roughly into three contrasting areas: around the house in formal compartments, the less formal Sculpture Garden, and the detached Lyde water garden, a feature of high quality design and innovative planting very unusual particularly in the Chilterns. The modern sculpture collection is of considerable interest in the garden setting. The contemporary park with clumps of trees forms the wider designed setting. Historic interest The site has been connected with the Carington family for over two centuries including with the present Lord Carrington, a renowned diplomat and politician who served in the Cabinet in the 1980s including as Foreign Secretary.

The Lyde Garden (K). JuG

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