In April 2023 the National Trust purchased Munstead Wood in Surrey, the Grade-I listed home and garden of garden designer Gertrude Jekyll.
Munstead Wood will remain closed while we work on plans to renovate and restore the property. Keep checking back here for progress of this important project.
Munstead Wood's 11-acre garden surrounds an Arts and Crafts house that showcases Jekyll’s collaboration with architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. It's the place where, from the 1890s to her death in 1932, Jekyll grew her influence on national and international garden design, transformed horticultural practice, and inspired others to become gardeners through her books and more than 1,000 articles.
Gertrude Jekyll's garden was a place of experimentation, particularly in the innovative use of colour in her planting. She designed areas to flower in different seasons and laid out a woodland garden which remains a fine example of her approach to artistic ‘wild gardening’. She also collected plants in Britain and Europe and introduced at least 30 new varieties into British gardens.
My garden is my workshop, my private study and place of rest.
The garden was simplified in the 1950s but subsequent owners restored Jekyll’s design and planting. A remarkable aspect of the garden is the wealth of documentary evidence in photographs, planting plans, paintings and written descriptions, capturing the appearance and the spirit of the garden and offering the archival basis of an authentic restoration.
Some of Jekyll’s original planting survives at Munstead Wood, particularly in the woodland garden. The formal paths, walls and pond near the house, designed for Jekyll by Edwin Lutyens, remain intact, and Jekyll’s innovative rock garden was recently discovered buried under layers of garden debris.
After 74 years of this internationally significant garden being in private ownership, a rare opportunity has opened up for the National Trust to protect Munstead Wood's unique legacy.
We are now asking for your help in raising funds to ensure that Munstead Wood remains a beautiful and inspiring oasis for years to come.
If you would like to donate please follow this link.
21 April 2023
The National Trust purchases Munstead Wood, the internationally important Surrey home and garden of influential plantswoman, designer and author Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932). Fundraising begins to enable conservation and repairs, and the Trust will work with partners to develop plans on the best way to open the property to visitors in future.
While Munstead Wood is closed and we develop our plans for Munstead Wood, enquiries can be made to munsteadwood@nationaltrust.org.uk.
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