Peckover House & Garden is a

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

property located in North Brink,

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles ...

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures th ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

The house was built in 1722 and later bought by Alfred Southwell. It was bought by Jonathan Peckover at the end of the 18th century.

Alexander Peckover Alexander Peckover, 1st Baron Peckover LL FRGS, FSA, FLS (16 August 1830 – 21 October 1919), was an English Quaker banker, philanthropist and collector of ancient manuscripts. Early years Peckover was born at Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, the s ...

was created Baron Peckover in 1907. During the period in which the building was in the ownership of the Peckovers, the building was known as Bank House. During the Second World War local tradition has it that Alexandrina Peckover, the largest contributor to the Wisbech

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

Fund, did so in lieu of giving up the railings in front of the house for the war effort. The Peckovers, a Quaker

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becau ...

family and owners of the Peckover Bank, presented the building to the

in 1948. The house was given a grade II listed building status in 1985. The garden was filmed by the BBC in 1997.

Architecture and grounds

The exterior of the house gives little idea of the elaborate and elegant interior of fine panelled rooms, Georgian fireplaces with carved over-mantels, and ornate plaster decorations. At the back of the house is a beautiful 0.8 ha (2 acre) Victorian

walled garden A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate ...

with interesting and rare trees, delightful summer houses and fruiting orange trees, thought to be 300 years old, roses,

herbaceous border A herbaceous border is a collection of perennial herbaceous plants (plants that live for more than two years and are soft-stemmed and non-woody) arranged closely together, usually to create a dramatic effect through colour, shape or large scale. ...

s, fernery, croquet lawn and 17th-century reed thatched barn. In the grounds is a pet cemetery still in use and nearby the Grade II listed 'White Cross of the Low'. The remains were dredged from the river Nene and once stood at The Low until the Reformation. Across the river is another former Bank House (now

Octavia Hill Birthplace House Octavia may refer to: People * Octavia the Elder (before 66 – after 29 BC), elder half sister of Octavia the Younger and Augustus/Octavian * Octavia the Younger (c.66–11 BC), sister of Augustus, younger half sister of Octavia the Elder and fou ...

), this once belonged to James Hill, a merchant and banker, father of Octavia Hill a founder of the National Trust. It is also open to the public. A mantrap once belonging to the Peckovers is now on display in

Wisbech & Fenland Museum The Wisbech & Fenland Museum, located in the town of Wisbech in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, is one of the oldest purpose-built museums in the United Kingdom. The museum logo is W&F. History Initially a member-based organisation ...

Reed Barn

The Barn was used as an amateur theatre during WWII and is thought to have been used as a theatre prior to the opening of the Georgian Theatre in Deadman's Lane. This Barn was fitted out as a restaurant and gift shop. Following the Covid-19 Lockdown the barn was controversially closed in order to create a meeting place for people living with dementia and those who care for them.

Popular culture

* Peckover House was the inspiration for John Gordon's 1970 novel, ''The House on the Brink''. * The film was the subject of an episode of a BBC documentary on National Trust gardens, in 1992, produced by

Peter Seabrook Peter John Seabrook MBE (2 November 1935 – 14 January 2022) was a British gardening writer and television broadcaster, presenting programmes including the BBC's ''Gardeners' World''. He wrote a gardening column in '' The Sun'' newspaper for o ...

. * The house has been used for a number of films, including ''

Dean Spanley ''Dean Spanley'' is a 2008 British comedy drama film, with fantastic elements, directed by Fijian New Zealander Toa Fraser. Set in Edwardian England, the film is based on an Alan Sharp adaptation of Irish author Lord Dunsany's 1936 novella ''My T ...

'' (2008).

References

External links

Peckover House & Garden information at the National Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peckoer House And Garden Wisbech Country houses in Cambridgeshire Gardens in Cambridgeshire National Trust properties in Cambridgeshire Historic house museums in Cambridgeshire Grade I listed buildings in Cambridgeshire Grade I listed houses 1722 establishments in England Houses completed in 1722