A Trip to Batsford Arboretum

It was such an amazingly warm day yesterday, that we decided to go for a leisurely walk in the Cotswolds. It had been a few years since we last visited Batsford Arboretum near Moreton in Marsh, so this was the ideal opportunity to make a return trip...

 

Lichen on the trees in front of Batsford House

The majority of the layout of Batsford Arboretum was little more than a dream when its creator inherited the Batsford Estates from John Freeman-Mitford in 1886.During the 1860s Algernon Bertram (Bertie) Freeman-Mitford (later 1st Lord Redesdale) travelled widely in oriental Asia and was deeply influenced by the landscapes in China and Japan. He became fascinated by many of the plants he found there, especially the bamboos. However, it was not until 1890 that Bertie was able to turn his attention to the gardens.

One of the many Maple trees in Batsford

He adopted a radical approach, almost erasing all traces of the original layout. He created a 'wild' garden of near natural plantings inspired by his observations of plant groupings in the Japanese landscape. He was able to create a garden which combined conventional parkland with a garden landscape. Most of the major trees, many of which are most unusual, were his original plantings.

The Late afternoon sun shines on the Bamboos

He also created one of the foremost bamboo collections of the time and some of these still live on today. As well as introducing a multitude of unusual plants, Bertie Mitford created an artificial watercourse some 600 metres long down the west side of the gardens. He enlisted the help of the well known landscapers, the Pulham Brothers, to build other major features which can still be seen today including the rockeries, streams and waterfalls, lake and the hermits cave.

Liquidambar Styraciflua, "Sweetgum"

 

In 1916 Bertie, now the 1st Lord Redesdale, died and was succeeded by his second son David who was father of the famous Mitford girls. The five older girls and their brother Tom all lived at Batsford during the first world war. The oldest, Nancy, based the early part of her novel 'Love in a Cold Climate' on their time at Batsford. 

The estate was sold to cover death duties in 1919 to Gilbert Hamilton Wills, later the 1st Lord Dulverton. His wife, Victoria took a great interest in the gardens making many additions. During the war years and for some time after 1945, the wild gardens were neglected and became somewhat overgrown. Frederick Hamilton Wills succeeded his father as the 2nd Lord Dulverton in 1956. Fortunately he had a great passion for trees and together with Mr. Ken Hope, his head forester, he proceeded throughout the 1960s to halt the decline. With great vigour and enthusiasm he consolidated the existing collections as well as adding a multitude of other trees to Batsford. He was single-handedly responsible for raising the status of Batsford to an arboretum of international standing.

The Autumn colours in front of the house

In 1984 Batsford Park was donated to a charitable trust founded by the 2nd Lord Dulverton to ensure the future of the arboretum. The 2nd Lord Dulverton died in 1992 and the Batsford Arboretum continues to be administered by the Batsford Foundation who proceed to develop the arboretum as a place of great beauty to enjoy as an educational resource.

The last two years have seen a major rebuilding plan in the garden centre and cafe/restaurant area. There is now plenty on offer for a family visit, with excellent food and drinks. Plenty of visitors were tucking into their Sunday roast when we visited: Roast Beef and Yorkshire puddings. Fortunately, the arboretum is large enough to walk off even the heartiest lunch!

The new build and border

If you would like to visit, please check the Batsford website for opening times and charges as well as details on the important Conservation work carried out there. We will certainly not be leaving it so long before returning again...
More pictures on my Flickr page