The Garden House is an open garden located in Buckland Monachorum,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. The first house built in 1305 was intended to be a home for the

vicars A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

. The gardens are now open to the public and are home to a number of historical features, including the ruins of the old

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically own ...

, a 14th-century barn, and a 17th-century

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

History

The first house was built in 1305 by the

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, upon instruction from the

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to build a house for the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

priest, and was later enlarged to become a three-storey building. The Garden House was originally the early 19th century home of the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

s of Buckland Monachorum. The garden was bought by Lionel Fortescue, a former head of

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and master at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, and his wife Katherine Fortescue in the 1940s following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. They began a process of restoration and expansion over the course of 40 years and created a series of linked gardens. The remains of this building are a tower with

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

and a thatched barn, formerly the kitchen, are now ruins on the lower terrace in the walled garden. A

tearoom A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

has also been built on the ground floor.

Grounds

The Garden House covers 10 acres of land and is divided into themed areas. There are five terraces in the walled garden that began the garden. They include formally planted areas, including a tennis court, camellia walk and a lower terrace of folial borders. The Walled Garden is a 2-acre plot set around the remnants of a 16th-century vicarage. It features terraced layout and a tower offering views of the landscape. The Jubilee Arboretum, which contains over a hundred specimen trees as well as a man made lake, was officially opened by HRH The Countess of Wessex in 2013.{{Cite web , title=Garden , url=https://www.thegardenhouse.org.uk/visit/garden/ , access-date=2023-09-01 , website=The Garden House , language=en-GB File:Garden House Doors.jpg, Doors into the walled garden File:Dovecote Garden House.jpg, View onto path from the dovecote File:The Garden House Lake.jpg, The Jubilee Arboretum, stream flowing from the lake File:The Garden House Lime Tree Walk.jpg, Path through the lime tree walk File:Magic Circle.jpg, Path onto the magic stone circle

References

Gardens in Devon Borough of West Devon Former buildings and structures in England