Visit to The Manor, Hemingford Grey
Saturday 04 July 2020
18:45 to 20:30
Built about 1130 The Manor is one of the oldest continuously inhabited houses in the country. It was the home of Lucy Boston from 1939 until her death in 1990 and the setting for her Green Knowe children’s books so going round the house and garden visitors feel that they are walking into the books as many of the toys and other features mentioned in the books exist. The house, particularly, is a magical place for children to visit. In the winter Lucy Boston sewed exquisite patchworks. They form the only collection of this calibre worldwide which can be seen in the house where they were made. During the second world war, Lucy Boston gave gramophone recitals in the Music Room (which is virtually unchanged from when the house was built). The recitals were for airmen based locally and the old EMG gramophone is played during the tour.
When she bought the property the land in front of the house was a field. In the Autumn of 1939 she planted over two hundred trees and shrubs plus, beside the towpath along the River Great Ouse which borders the garden, she planted a further one hundred sweet briar plants. Many of these were washed away in the 1947 flood.
Bordered by a moat on three sides and the River Great Ouse on the other, the garden is four acres with one acre deliberately left wilderness as a haven for wildlife. It is divided into different sections, including the hidden garden with splendid mature yews.
There are large herbaceous borders full of scented plants with plenty of self-sown annuals intermingled. The atmosphere is of carefree tranquility which means there are weeds as well as planned plantings. It is not a manicured garden. Lucy Boston’s philosophy was that it would be a pity if one won against the forest and wild flowers waiting to take over.
| Location |
The Manor Hemingford Grey Cambridgeshire PE28 9BN (view map) |
|---|---|
| Cost | £9 per person £8 for over 60's |