Explore the garden at Goddards

Pond with lilies in the foreground and trees of different shades beyond — Later in the season the long shadows add to the garden textures | © National Trust / Anthony Chappel-Ross

Discover what you’ll see in the five acres of grounds when you visit the garden at Goddards. Once home to the Terry family, this private haven on the outskirts of York city centre features several garden rooms filled with scented borders, mature trees, ponds and wilder areas.

A garden of surprises

From the second you walk under the gatehouse, and leave the busy suburbs of York behind, you feel like you've entered into a secret garden, hidden in plain sight. The garden is divided up into 'garden rooms' as was the Arts and Crafts garden style. What you see today, is the same design created by George Dillistone in the late 1920s.

The garden rooms

As you wander around the five-acre garden, uncover the unique atmosphere in each space. The ‘rooms’ performs a separate function, with hedges and shrubs providing the structure.

Greenhouse

Today a superb example of a Richardsons of Darlington greenhouse, added in the 1930s and restored around 15 years ago thanks to National Trust supporters. Step inside to see the delicious and exotic varieties of plants taking seed. You might find a gardener pausing for a brew or propagating and growing on their annuals plants and produce – they’ll be happy to have a chat about the plants and share the secrets of their green fingers. Four water butts are used to collect rainfall, reducing the reliance on mains water.

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Glorious gardens. Utterly beautiful peaceful space with so many hidden spots and paths leading to new spaces to discover. It’s not huge but it is immaculate and a real hidden gem in the road out of York near the racecourse.

A quote by Tripadvisor review May 2022

Statuary returning home

New to see, but very much an original part of the garden is a series of statuary, including a pair of griffins, a pair of pelicans and a set of urns. They were originally acquired by Noel and Kathleen Terry and family and placed in their garden at Goddards; probably in the 1930s.

The statues were removed from the garden on the sale of the house to the National Trust in 1984 and relocated to the gardens of other family members. In time, kindly donated by the Terry family to their original home after nearly 40 years. After a programme of conservation, they are slowly getting returned to the garden. Thanks to archive imagery and this sketch from Betty Terry as a child, the team are able to place the pieces with relative confidence.

Watercolour sketch of a garden with statues and trees — This childhood memory has helped with today's garden planning | © The Terry family

Look out for wildlife

Despite its relatively urban location, Goddards is a haven for wildlife. Set back from the busy streets, this pocket of green space has many different habitats to support nature throughout the year. With the neighbouring Knavesmire and to some extent York racecourse, there are plenty of places for wildlife to thrive.

Over 30 species of birds have been recorded in the garden in recent years. As well as the more common species, you might see a treecreeper, goldcrest, nuthatch or greater spotted woodpecker. The mature trees and shrubs provide food and shelter for them, and we’ve put up additional bird boxes to encourage nesting. If you're very lucky, you might hear baby sparrowhawks calling out for food from their parents.
Different habitats in the garden attract different sorts of butterflies. In summer vast numbers of butterflies including red admirals, painted ladies, small tortoiseshells and commas are attracted to the border full of buddleias at the back of the tennis court. In the orchard the long grass supports the eggs of several meadow butterflies such as meadow browns, gatekeepers and ringlets. Patches of nettles are intentionally left for other butterflies to use.

Why is the house closed?

Goddards was bought by the charity from the Terry family to use as the Yorkshire regional office. Although selected rooms in the house were open for a short time, since the pandemic the indoor spaces have remained closed, except for use as a National Trust office. The gardens are open on selected days for visitors to explore.