Woolbeding House is an 18th-century country house in Woolbeding, near Midhurst, West Sussex, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
It was probably built by Sir Richard Mill Bt between 1711 and 1760 and was originally of a quadrangular plan with an open courtyard in the middle. The courtyard was later roofed over. The house is built of coursed Hythe sandstone in 2 storeys with an attic and has a 7-bay south-facing frontage with 5 hipped dormers.
History
The manor of Woolbeding belonged to William Aylyng in 1567 and passed by marriage to the Grey family. The Greys owned the manor until Margaret Grey married Sir John Mill in 1652. It then passed down in the Mill family until 1791, the manor house having been remodelled by Sir Richard Mill in the meantime.
In 1791 the Rev. Sir Charles Mill, 8th Baronet sold the house and estate to
Lord Robert Spencer
Lord Robert Spencer (8 May 1747 – 23 June 1831) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons several times between 1768 and 1818.
Early life
Spencer was born on 8 May 1747. He was the son of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, ...
, the youngest son of the
3rd Duke of Marlborough
Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, (22 November 170620 October 1758), styled as The Honourable Charles Spencer between 1706 and 1729 and as The Earl of Sunderland between 1729 and 1733, was a British soldier, nobleman, and politician f ...
, who immediately made a number of alterations to the house, including the roofing over of the central courtyard. The house then descended in the Spencer family via his stepdaughter Diana Bouverie to her daughter, who bequeathed it to the Lascelles family. They in turn made it over in the late 1940s to the
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 ...
, who leased it to businessman, philanthropist and art collector
Lanning Roper
Lanning Roper (4 February 1912 – 22 March 1983) was an American landscape architect and writer who studied and lived in England.
Life
He was born in West Orange, New Jersey, the son of Willet Crosby Roper (1877–1966), an investment banker, ...
,
Julian
Julian may refer to:
People
* Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363
* Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots
* Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints
* Julian (give ...
and Isabel Bannerman, Philip Jebb, and more recently, Thomas Heatherwick to transform the Woolbeding Gardens into the vibrant horticultural paradise it is today, now open to the public.
Visitors are greeted by the Entrance Garden, a beautifully transformed area that was once the old farmyard. Julian and Isabel Bannerman redesigned this space to feature a dry garden with formal water pools, surrounded by informal perennials and olive trees. The Bannermans also developed the Pleasure Grounds area as well as The Long Walk; a circular route which features delightful follies that lure visitors around the garden.
The Glasshouse and Silk Route Garden was designed by Heatherwick Studio for Woolbeding Charity, supported by the National Trust. The ten-sided kinetic glasshouse and landscaped garden zones showcase plants, shrubs and trees that represent the key regions of the Silk Route.