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Withyham -- Buckhurst Park

Smithsonian Gardens

Object Details

Architect

Lutyens, Edwin Landseer Sir, 1869-1944

Garden designer

Jekyll, Gertrude, 1843-1932

Former resident

Benson, Robert Henry, 1850-1929
Benson, Evelyn Holford, 1857-1943

Collection Creator

Garden Club of America

Collection Citation

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Scope and Contents

The folder includes worksheets and an essay.
sova.aag.gca_ref4493

GUID

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6eff5c131-1398-4711-aaaf-f0862371ef6e

General

Buckhurst Park, the home on Buckhurst Estate, dates from 1603 and was visited during the Garden Club of America's 1929 tour to England. An addition to the estate was made by the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens in the early twentieth century. Lutyens designed the gardens with the help of Gertrude Jekyll who assisted with plantings. The Buckhurst Estate served as inspiration for author A. A. Milne in the creation of Winnie the Pooh and the Hundred Acre Wood.
In 1902-1903, Lutyens and Jekyll created a terraced garden consisting of three levels for then-lessors Robert Henry Benson and Evelyn Benson. The top level contained a sunken lily pond. Lutyens also built two stone pergolas on the lowest level of the terrace. Revisiting the historic plantings for this garden, the current owner replanted the terrace in 2011 with lavender, salvia, alchemilla, gorse, digitalis, and various roses.
A complete copy of the GCA tour itinerary was printed in the Bulletin of the Garden Club of America (Fourth Series, No. 5), September 1929, pp. 6-25.
Persons associated with the garden include Robert Henry Benson and Evelyn Benson (former owners, 1920s), Sir Edward Lutyens (architect, 1902-1903) and Gertrude Jekyll (garden designer, 1902-1903).

Place

Buckhurst Park (Withyham, East Sussex, England)
United Kingdom -- England -- East Sussex -- Withyham

Topic

Gardens -- England -- East Sussex -- Withyham

Architect

Lutyens, Edwin Landseer Sir, 1869-1944

Garden designer

Jekyll, Gertrude, 1843-1932

Former resident

Benson, Robert Henry, 1850-1929
Benson, Evelyn Holford, 1857-1943

See more items in

The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 2: International Garden Images / United Kingdom -- England

Sponsor

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Archival Repository

Archives of American Gardens

Identifier

AAG.GCA, File ENG004

Type

Archival materials

Collection Rights

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Bibliography

Garden has been featured in Of Gardens: Selected Essays by Paula Deitz (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011) p. 248-50.

Collection Restrictions

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Related Materials

Buckhurst Park related holdings consist of 1 folder (4 lantern slides)
AAG.GCA_ref4493
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6eff5c131-1398-4711-aaaf-f0862371ef6e
AAG.GCA
AAG

Record ID

ebl-1643208220039-1643210189292-0

Showing 1 result(s)

The Garden Club of America collection

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