Surrey -- Sutton Place

At the time of Thomas W. Sears' visit in 1908 Sutton Place was the estate of Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe. Harmsworth leased the property from its owners, the Salvin and Witham families, from about 1900 to 1918. The original manor house was built about 1525, but the gardens have undergone many transformations over the years. It appears that Gertrude Jekyll was involved in much of the design of garden renovations undertaken around 1902. By 1908 the site included extensive lawns and specimen trees, a walled garden, a rose garden, water features, and long borders of perennials with grass walkways. Baroness Northcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Milner Harmsworth, took a keen interest in the gardens, and contemporary sources also cite the work of two gardeners, Donald Watson and Joseph Goatley.

Persons associated with the garden include Gertrude Jekyll (garden designer, circa 1902); Alfred Charles William Harmsworth and Mary Elizabeth Milner Harmsworth (former tenants, circa 1900-1918); Donald Watson (gardener, circa 1900-1918); and Joseph Goatley (gardener, circa 1900-1918).