Wakehurst Place
Wakehurst Place | ||
---|---|---|
OS grid reference TQ 33950 31418 | | |
Area | West Sussex | |
Built | 1590 | |
Governing body | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | |
Owner | National Trust | |
Listed Building – Grade I | ||
Official name | Wakehurst Place | |
Designated | 28 October 1957 | |
Reference no. | 1025764 | |
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens | ||
Official name | Wakehurst Place | |
Designated | 1 June 1984 | |
Reference no. | 1000189 | |


Wakehurst, previously known as Wakehurst Place, is a house and botanic gardens in
RBG Kew has leased the land from the National Trust since 1965 and much has been achieved in this time, from the Millennium Seed Bank project and the creation of the Loder Valley and Francis Rose Nature Reserves to the introduction of the visitor centre, the Seed café and Stables restaurant, along with the development of the gardens.
Wakehurst is
The stables are listed Grade II* and the South Lodge and gateway is listed Grade II.[3][4]
History
The mansion was built by Sir Edward Culpeper in 1590. It originally formed a complete courtyard prior to being altered various times, and currently has an E-shaped plan. Wakehurst was bought in 1694 by Dennis Lyddell, comptroller of the Treasurer of the Navy's accounts and briefly MP for Harwich. His son Richard Liddell, a profligate rake, was discovered in criminal conversation with Lady Bergavenny, wife of William Nevill, 16th Baron Bergavenny. Nevill brought a lawsuit against Liddell who, rather than pay the damages of £10,000, handed the Wakehurst estate over to his younger brother Charles and went abroad. He was later an opposition Whig MP for Bossiney, and briefly Chief Secretary for Ireland.[5]
The house was illustrated in Joseph Nash's The Mansions of England in the Olden Time (1839), pp. 97–98.
It was sold in 1869 to Caroline, Dowager Marchioness of Downshire and then passed to the Boord baronets.[6]
The gardens were largely created by
In 1887, American architect Dudley Newton completed a replica of Wakehurst in Newport, Rhode Island, for sportsman and politician James J. Van Alen from plans designed by Charles Eamer Kempe. Salve Regina University purchased the mansion from the Van Alen family in 1972.[8]
In 2022, the mansion was closed for an extensive renovation, predicted to last at least two years.[9]
National Collections
Wakehurst is home to the
Millennium Seed Bank
The
Nearby, also cared for by Kew, are the Loder Valley Nature Reserve of woodland, meadowland and wetland habitats, and the Francis Rose Reserve, the first devoted to cryptogams (mosses, lichens and ferns).[citation needed]
Christmas tree
Wakehurst is home to the largest growing
In popular culture
Much of
On 4 June 2021, the BBC broadcast an episode of Gardeners' World from Wakehurst.[15]
See also
References
- ^ Historic England (28 October 1957), "Wakehurst Place (1025764)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 11 March 2018
- ^ Historic England (1 June 1984), "Wakehurst Place (1000189)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 11 March 2018
- ^ Historic England, "The South Lodge and Gateway, Wakehurst Place (1025765)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 11 March 2018
- ^ Historic England (28 October 1957), "Stables to the north east of Wakehurst Place (1354792)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 11 March 2018
- ^ "Liddell, Richard (?1694–1746), of Wakehurst Place, Suss". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
- ^ 'Parishes: Ardingly', in A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7, the Rape of Lewes, ed. L. F. Salzman (London, 1940). British History Online. [Retrieved 28 November 2024].
- ^ "Wakehurst Place: The Culpeper Connection".
- ^ Salve Regina University. "Campus Buildings: Wakehurst". Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ^ "The Mansion: Undergoing restoration". Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Souvenir Guide, 4th ed. 2009:81.
- ^ "What's in the gardens". Retrieved 9 November 2022.
- ^ "Royal Botanical Gardens Kew: Seed Collection". Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ "'Biggest Christmas tree' lit up". BBC News. 26 November 2004. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- British Universities Film and Video Council. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
External links
- Wakehurst: National Trust
- Wakehurst: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
- Visit Wakehurst
- What's on at Wakehurst