The garden of Hurdley Hall, near Churchstoke, Montgomeryshire The home of Simon Quin and Simon Cain
THE story of the garden at Hurdley Hall will be familiar to anyone who has created a country garden themselves. It will also be reassuring to anyone who has thought of doing this, but found the prospect too daunting. Through two decades, from 2001, Simon Quin and Simon Cain have transformed the surroundings of Hurdley Hall, a traditional black-and-white timbered farmhouse that dates from the 17th century. It once stood at the centre of a working farm, with a grazing right up to the front door and a jumble of miscellaneous farm outbuildings, small yards, and a rough meadow where the garden is today.
Hurdley sits in a small bump of Montgomeryshire that juts into neighbouring Shropshire. It is unspoilt, hilly, Marcher land, but not easy conditions for gardening with heavy clay soil, cold winters, high rainfall, and low average daily temperatures and hours of sunlight. Over the years, Mr. Cain and Mr. Quin have overcome this patiently, coming to understand and work with the conditions. As Mr. Cain says: 'There was no grand plan, we have done it ourselves, piece by piece.'
Initially, they bought the house and a surrounding triangle of two acres, most of which lay behind the house. They thought it made sense to start on the entrance front, where there was sloping tarmac up to the porch and rubble everywhere. For the construction of key elements, the most valuable commodity was the limitless supply of stone that was lying around and was soon put to good use. The sloping tarmac was replaced with a series of three small terraces, which they constructed with low retaining walls.
Denne historien er fra July 20, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra July 20, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
