While my garden tours focus primarily on the experience of visiting private gardens with the owners and head gardeners, sometimes there are famous historic gardens that are must-sees. No garden tour of the region would be complete without visiting them.
I am weary of historic gardens. Sometimes, I find, their soul has been lost. Careful maintenance cannot mask the fact that the proportions are off because the trees, the hedges or the shrubs have grown too tall for the space. Or, on the contrary, because of a lack of care or neglect, they have little more to show than the merit of a famous name.
In the Cotswolds, there is one historic garden I wouldn't want to miss. Considered by Monty Don one of the most important gardens in England, Rousham is the work of William Kent (1685-1748), who worked at Rousham between 1737 and 1741. Still in private hands and owned by the same family for which it was conceived almost 300 years ago, the garden is a wonderful example of a historic garden with a soul.
It is remarkable that after so many years the garden still has this presence. One can attribute this, of course, to the design of the great William Kent, the father of the naturalistic style better known to day as the English Landscape Garden. Or to the care of many generations of the same family. Or to the spirit of place, the genus loci, which is so powerful as to dictate and master the space.
Why is Rousham worth a visit?
This is a garden that takes the visitor on a journey. It is not about the great house that sits in the middle of it. Perfectly nestled in the surrounding landscape of gentle hills and the Cherwell River, the garden unfolds rather like the pages of a marvelous book. The visitor is led down the hill into the valley towards the stream, through various areas, each with a different mood. There is open lawn, then shady woodland, dramatic statuary, sheltered spots to sit, discreet follies, a peaceful walk along a river, an ordered walled garden, sheltered bits, wild bits.
Nothing here is overwhelming; it is all delicately proportioned—no small feat considering the age of the garden and how long ago the trees were planted. This is not a garden made to crush the visitor with grandeur. Rather, this is a garden that embraces the visitor with the promise of a sensory experience. There is the play of light and shadow, birdsong from the tall trees, and the gentle sound of running water. There is the feel and sound of fallen leaves crushed underfoot, the scent of wet woodland, and that of roses in the walled garden.
This is a pleasure garden designed for the visitor to unwind from the outside world. Oh, there are statements of grandeur all right—the statuary, the follies. But this place is a refuge from the brutality of the outside world. It is a place where the visitor may find peace and be reconciled with the world by engaging with the beauty of nature. Is this manipulative? Perhaps, but it is also delightful. Rousham is a big place that doesn´t feel big and overwhelming. It´s a place I wouldn´t want to miss.
Open every day of the year, this is a garden one can visit in all seasons and where there is always something of interest, so a visit never disappoints.
When you do visit, make sure you have enough time. Take a guided tour, which will give you essential historical background information. Then wander and take in the places that spoke to you most. It is a garden to experience.
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suzy spencer (Tuesday, 12 November 2024 20:12)
I am dying to go to the Cotswolds but not in conjunction with Chelsey (sp?) as I have been several times. Might that work?
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PS
You are scheduled here at the Chatterbox for June 10th. Fingers crossed it might work for you. Let me know what you think
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