THE PHILOSOPHERS’ GARDEN - A STORY OF RESTORATION
October 2006.
‘I love not Man the less but Nature more’ . Byron
There have been formal gardens at Ashley Combe from at least the late 18th century. They were extensively remodelled in the early part of the 19th century by William King, 1st Earl Lovelace, prior to his marriage to his young wife, Ada, daughter of Lord Byron and brilliant polymath, in 1835.
Following her death in 1852, the gardens and property fell into disuse until the 2nd Earl Lovelace inherited the estate in 1893.
Both the 2nd Earl and Countess of Lovelace took great interest in the property and embarked on an extensive programme of tree planting (a particular interest of the Earl) and redesign of the gardens, estate cottages and main house undertaken by Mary, Countess Lovelace with her friend and advisor, Charles Voysey, the celebrated architect of the Arts and Crafts movement. Indeed, the Countess was a trained architect and the influence of both remains in evidence throughout the estate to this day.
The property again fell into disuse some years after the 2nd World War following a period of mixed use including that as a country club, as a Dr Barnardos’ home and a period when the property was for sale on the open market, until the main house of Ashley Combe was demolished on grounds of safety in the 1974.
With a national emphasis on diversification in the rural economy and an increasing interest in visiting gardens and places of historic interest, a positive project would be to restore these grounds to a state where they can be opened to the public as a paying attraction.
