An old master restored

Some gardens are like paintings, says George Plumptre of Lossenham Manor in Kent. It takes a sensitive renovation to peel back the layers of history and so reveal their original treasures

- George Plumptre

SOME long-established gardens are akin to Old Masters, where layers of original detail and colour have been obscured by later over-painting. These original features can lie concealed and unknown for centuries, until revealed by careful restoration.

Lossenham Manor is such a garden, where extensive rejuvenation has been sensitively carried out by the Kent-based garden designer Marian Boswall for Tristram and Tavia Gethin. Mr and Mrs Gethin moved here from London in 1999, partly drawn by an ancient family connection: Tristram is descended from Dame Grace Gethin, who lived in the 17th century, and who, in turn, was descended from William Culpepper, who owned the house in the 16th century.

For the first two years, the Gethins did little to the garden, deciding to ‘see what was here’ before making any major changes. They made some pleasing discoveries, such as the naturalised cyclamen in the old orchard, and important improvements, including the iron railings along the moat, as well as adding limited planting, such as the now integral hornbeam hedge. It was not until 2014 that they decided to tackle the major problems that had become steadily more evident, however. Work included commissioning Mrs Boswall to address the state of the moat, which was full of silt and had collapsing walls; the regular flooding caused by the proximity of the broad valley of the Rother; the unevenness of the walled garden immediately to the east of the house; and the approach to the house and prospect of the main south-facing façade, where a gravel area was used for parking cars and had an expanse of uneven, sloping lawn beyond.