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Great Dixter, East Sussex

 

The Great Hall at Great Dixter probably dates to the 1450s, and is one of the finest medieval halls in Britain. The fifteenth century was a time when people lived much more together than they do now. The subdivision of modern life began in 1595 at Great Dixter when the house was modified to accommodate more separate rooms. The house remained a farm house until 1910, by which time it had fallen into a state of dereliction. In 1910 Nathaniel Lloyd, who made a fortune in printing and advertising, bought Great Dixter, and commissioned Edwin Lutyens to restore the house and design the gardens. The house restoration involved moving elements of another house in Kent to the site, and combining the two houses to produce the larger building we see today.

The garden in which the restored house sits with apparent naturalness, is very characteristic of the twentieth century. There is a combination of formal and informal. These themes are divided into garden rooms, in an architectural style. Hedges are used to create doorways and even corridors. Outbuildings are themselves incorporated into the garden, developing this theme of a harmony between indoors and outdoors. The house itself, weathered and mellowed by centuries of rain, wind and sunshine, seems to sit organically in the landscape. The result is a house which was built in an age when nature was something to shut out and hide from, sitting in a garden where nature is venerated. There is a popular view that we are less in tune with nature than we used to be, but in this garden, this idealisation of our relationship with nature, the opposite seems to be true.

 

 

Modern England is unlikely to offer space for deer parks, and Capability Brown landscapes, and the garden at Great Dixter illustrates the twentieth century tendency to use visual tricks to make gardens seem bigger than they really are. The relative lack of space is overcome by clever use of vistas and perspective to give the illusion of distance.

Directions: Great Dixter is at Northiam near Rye, just off the A28 between Tenterden and Hastings. Click here for an interactive road and satellite map centred over Great Dixter.

Opening Times: 1st April to 28th October, Tuesday to Sunday and bank holiday Mondays. Gardens 11am - 5pm, house 2pm - 5pm.

Address: Great Dixter, Northiam, Rye, East Sussex TN31 6PH

Access: Wheelchair access in the garden is generally good, with ramps to help on some of the slopes. There is a map showing accessible routes. There are adapted toilet facilities near the ticket office. Only the ground floor of the house is level. There is a photograph tour of the rest of the house.

Contact:

telephone: 01797 252878

fax: 01797 252879

e-mail: office@greatdixter.co.uk

web site: http://www.greatdixter.co.uk/index.htm

 

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