The garden at Nuffield Place

Close up of some flowers in the gardens at Nuffield Place — The gardens at Nuffield Place, Oxfordshire

Croquet lawn at Nuffield Place with the house in the background — Croquet lawn, Nuffield Place, Oxfordshire

Part of water feature on a lawn at Nuffield Place — The pond lawn, Nuffield Place, Oxfordshire

As an Arts and Crafts house, the garden was designed in conjunction with the house in 1914, laid out by Oswald Partridge Milne. The Nuffield’s made minor changes to reflect current fashions, rather than any major re-modelling.

Take your time in the gardens

Take your time to look around all the areas of the garden. Go on a short walk through the woods and meadow, which offer a great contrast to the gardens that are nearer the house.

Pony Paddock

An area that was once part of a 400 year old meadow is now home to the new vegetable garden, where produce is grown that can be bought depending on the season.

Opposite the garage, where Lady Nuffield’s car is stored, hidden behind a conifer tree, is a little seating area overlooking the meadow. A perfect sun trap!

North Garden

Wander around the paths lining criss-crossing through a combination of lawn and mixed beds, which are still in the original, irregular bed shapes with brick edges.

The shrub borders in this area of the garden were laid out in their current state in the 1960s, and are slowly being renovated to restore the views over to the meadow.

The lawns

Enjoy three different lawns at Nuffield Place. The Red Oak Lawn is directly behind the tearoom, and is so called because of the large American Red Oak that is planted on it. Running across this lawn is also the reinstated Purple Plum avenue, bearing lovely blossom in spring and deep purple leaves until late autumn.

Lying to the west of the house is the most informal grassed area known as the pond lawn. It currently contains a small amount of Lord Nuffield’s water garden; a feature that used to flow across the lawn.

Have a look at what we're doing, as we close the tennis lawn for these vital works

Rejuvenation works at Nuffield Place

We've been working hard to make Nuffield Place more environmentally sustainable as we rejuvenate the effluent disposal systems.

Garden tours

Find out more about the garden at Nuffield Place on a tour with one of our wonderful volunteers. Please ask at Visitor Reception when you arrive if there are any available on the day of your visit.