With only lawns and shrubberies remaining of the original gardens, their rejuvenation has taken a huge amount of thought and work but, says James AlexanderSinclair, the results are spectacular
AH... the Cotswolds. Shoals of perfect villages with stone the colour of a Californian suntan, rolling fields and fat cattle. Roads that pass between magnificently arched mature beech trees with their newly born, lettucecoloured leaves. Almost unbearably picturesque pubs crouch welcomingly on corners as we wander down narrow paths into deep wooded valleys and up again into the light of ridges and escarpments. In the distance, the Malvern Hills glint in the sunshine and feathery clouds flit over flocks of happy sheep.
You get the picture? Bucolic bliss at its best.
In the middle of all this sits a remarkable house and garden: Dowdeswell Court, which hovers on the side of a steep hill and has been the site of much activity over the centuries.
The same family lived here from about 1580 until 1900 and built the current house in the 1830s. In 1920, a new owner removed the top floor and, soon afterwards, the estate was requisitioned by the air ministry during the Second World War. Subsequently, echoing the fate of many similar properties, there was a gentle decline as the grandeur faded and the gardens were overlooked and simplified.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
