The garden and estate at Scotney Castle

The garden at Scotney Castle 

The garden was created in the late 1830s at the same time as the house allowing the two to work together to create the perfect country home. The then owner, Edward Hussey III, had the vision to transform medieval Scotney Castle from a damp and derelict dwelling into a charming ruin that would become the centrepiece of his romantic and naturalistic landscape. Working with architect, Anthony Salvin and landscape designer, William Sawrey Gilpin, Scotney Castle represents one of the last and most successful expressions of the Picturesque movement. 

The view from the semi-circular Bastion above the Quarry Garden to the moated castle ruin is breath-taking in all seasons, whether it is bare frost-covered branches and mist rising from the moat in winter, the colourful azaleas, rhododendrons and kalmia in spring and summer, or the flaming reds and oranges of the acers in the autumn.

In summer, the old English roses clambering up the walls of the Old Castle and the surrounding herbaceous beds provide picture-perfect backdrops. The grass terraces around the house are deliberately left long to protect and encourage the rare green-winged orchids that flower there in spring. This plant was in decline after the Second World War but, thanks to this management approach, they now thrive in these lawns alongside many other species of wildflower. 

Wandering through the garden you will also discover the quarry garden, the ice house thatched with heather, the Victorian boat house on the moat and the old bowling green as well as the chalybeate spring, acres of wild meadows, giant sequoias, and the stream that feeds the castle moat. You will also find the Badger and Pepper play area for younger children.

Before you leave Scotney, be sure to visit the peaceful one-acre walled garden. Built around 1840 to provide the Hussey household with fresh fruit and vegetables, its unusual octagonal shape maximises the amount of growing space for the fan-trained and espaliered fruit trees. Varieties of apricot, peach, cherry, plum, greengage, apple, quince and pear growing here. Other features of note are the original watering-can dipping pond and, in the far left corner, a huge and ancient crab apple tree which is covered in white blossom in spring.

From February to November we run free guided tours of the garden. Click here to find out more.

780 acres of estate to explore

The Scotney Castle estate has a long and varied history and the ancient parkland and Wealden woodlands surrounding the house and garden are criss-crossed by waymarked routes, offering fantastic views of the castle, garden and house.

Grade I listed, the parkland is full of magnificent veteran trees inlcuding what is believed to be the oldest hornbeam tree in the country, showing its association with a formal dwelling for over 1,000 years. The woodlands are characteristic of the Wealden landscape and cover 300 acres of the estate; they boast connections with wood-pasture, charcoal production, iron working and the once-lucrative hop industry.

Scotney is the only National Trust property to have a working hop farm and the tenant farmer at Little Scotney Farm still grows, picks and dries hops which are then used by a local brewery to make craft beers, some of which you can buy in the Scotney shop.

The native-breed Sussex cattle have been a proud feature of the landscape since Victorian times. Our archives show handwriten records of the first herd of Sussex cattle being acquired in 1896. Click the button below to read how we have reintroduced cattle to the estate for conservation grazing.