Great Dixter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Great Dixter is a house in Northiam, East Sussex close to the South Coast of England. It has a famous garden which is regarded as the epitome of English plantsmanship.[citation needed]
The original house at Dixter, which dates from the mid 15th century, was acquired by a businessman named Nathaniel Lloyd in 1909. He had a 16th century house in a similar style moved from Kent and the two were combined with new work by the architect Edwin Lutyens to create a much larger house, which was rechristened Great Dixter. It is a romantic recreation of a medieval manor house, complete with great hall, parlour, solar and yeoman's hall.
Nathaniel Lloyd and Lutyens began the garden at Great Dixter, but it was Nathaniel's son Christopher Lloyd, a well known garden writer and television personality, who made it famous. The garden is in the arts and crafts style, and features topiary, a long border, an orchard and a wild flower meadow. The planting is profuse, yet structured, and has featured many bold experiments of form, colour and combination. The garden is currently managed by Fergus Garrett, who worked closely with Lloyd up until his death in 2006 as Head Gardener and introduced a number of innovations into the planting scheme.
The house and garden are open to the public on a regular basis and study tours are available. A charity called the Great Dixter Charitable Trust has been established to ensure that the property is preserved.
[edit] References
- Dickey, Page (June 2006) "The Lessons of Great Dixter: Christopher Lloyd designed garden" House & Garden 175(6): pp. 144-151;
