The history of Nymans

Early history

Nymans takes its name from Philip Nynian, who owned the estate in the 14th century. After three centuries of agricultural use by the Gatland family and others, Nymans became the country residence of a succession of industrialists in the early 19th century. They enlarged the estate and planted ornamental trees in the garden. The medieval house was largely rebuilt in 1839.

Ludwig and Annie Messel

In 1865, Ludwig Messel (1847–1915) left his home in Germany and arrived in London. He worked for stockbrokers Seligman Brothers before establishing his own stockbroking firm, L. Messel and Co. in 1873. Ludwig was an astute businessman, and the firm became one of the most successful in London.

Ludwig became a British citizen in 1869. Two years later he married Annie Cussans (1846–1920). They lived in a fashionable house near Hyde Park and had four daughters and two sons. Shortly after the birth of their youngest daughter, Muriel, they bought Nymans as a country retreat for the family.

Becoming part of the landed gentry was particularly pertinent for Ludwig. As a German Jew, the purchase of a country estate was seen as the ideal way to integrate into British society.

Ludwig asked his brother Alfred Messel (1853–1909), a practising architect in Germany, to remodel the existing house at Nymans. He transformed the building in the Germanic style, adding a tower, large sloping roofs and a vast conservatory. The result appeared somewhat incongruous in the Sussex landscape. Laying out the garden Already a collector of art and antiques, Ludwig turned his attention to collecting rare plants. The soil and conditions at Nymans were ideal for growing the trees and shrubs newly introduced from China, Japan, North America and the Himalayas, and Ludwig began laying out a garden.

Ludwig was fortunate in his choice of Head Gardener. James Comber (1866–1953) began working at Nymans in 1895 and remained employed until his death nearly six decades later. Theirs was a perfect partnership, with Ludwig providing the inspiration and Comber the horticultural expertise. Together they experimented with breeding new cultivars, and many of their original plants still grow at Nymans today.

Ludwig laid out the Arboretum, Wall Garden, Heath Garden, Croquet Lawn, Rock Garden and Pergola, as well as ornamental features in the woodland. Although the garden was filled with rare and interesting plants, Ludwig’s eye for design ensured the planting was ornamental and the layout carefully conceived.

Muriel Messel

Annie and Ludwig’s youngest daughter Muriel Messel (1889–1918) followed in her father’s footsteps and became a keen plantswoman. As a teenager, she designed the spring borders in the Wall Garden and assisted with the running of the garden when her father became ill. When Ludwig died in 1915, Muriel completed the work he had begun to create a catalogue of his plant collection. This was published in 1918 as ‘A Garden Flora’, with a preface by the renowned horticulturist William Robinson and illustrations by Alfred Parsons. Muriel’s contribution to the garden at Nymans was cut short when she died, aged 29, in the influenza pandemic of 1918.

Leonard and Maud Messel

On his father’s death in 1915, Leonard Messel (1872–1953) inherited Nymans. His wife Maud Messel (1875–1960) was reluctant to move from their comfortable country home nearby in Balcombe. She agreed on condition that the house would be completely remodelled.

This second major transformation of Nymans took place in the 1920s to plans by architect Norman Evill, who was later replaced by Walter Tapper. Maud closely supervised the design of the house which was a 20th-century reimagining of a medieval manor. This picturesque pastiche provided the perfect setting for the Messels’ collection of furniture, textiles and paintings, as well as the library of rare botanical books collected by Leonard.

Plant collecting

While Maud created her dream house, Leonard focused on developing the plant collections, working closely with Comber as his father had done. Leonard sponsored the plant collecting trips of Ernest Wilson and George Forrest to China, introducing many new rhododendrons to the garden. Nymans also benefitted from the plants brought back to Britain from Chile and Tasmania by Comber’s son, Harold (1897–1969). The garden gained a reputation for its rare plants, particularly magnolias, camellias and rhododendrons, winning many awards at Royal Horticultural Society shows. Over thirty plants are named after the Messels and Nymans, including Camellia ‘Maud Messel’, Magnolia loebneri 'Leonard Messel' and Davidia involucrata ‘Nymans Sentinel’. Maud’s interest in old-fashioned roses led to the creation of a rose garden in the 1920s to display her collection. She sourced lost varieties and protected many species from extinction.