The garden after Morris
In 1866, Morris sold Red House to James Heathcote, whose daughter Marian described the orchard and “...pleasaunces...” in her memoir, suggesting that Morris’ garden remained for some time after he and his family left. However, by the time Charles Holme acquired the property in 1899, a number of changes seem to have taken place.
An Ordnance Survey map of 1897 shows that the Coach House had been added to the south of Webb’s stable building, and glass houses added behind the outbuildings by the time Holme took ownership of Red House. Holme was a keen collector of orchids, and used the glass house to store his collection. The survey also seems to show that the intimate garden rooms had been replaced, and the garden opened up, with photographs showing a grass area and love seat possibly to the north of the house.
The garden of 1 acre was enlarged by an additional land purchase to the west of the property in the early 20th century, by the then owners Henry and Maud Maufe. This protected Red House somewhat from the rapid urbanisation of the once rural area, and maintained the sense of seclusion that Morris himself had sought.
Between 1920-1950 a series of different owners took over Red House, but it was Ted Hollamby and his wife Doris, in particular, who rescued the garden from a near-derelict state, replanting with native plants and preserving the remaining elderly fruit trees.