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Groombridge Place and Enchanted Forest, Kent

The present house at Groombridge was built in 1662 by architect Philip Packer, with the help of his friend, Christopher Wren, the seventeenth century's premier architect. Packer's house was built on the site of a series of former manor houses owned by wealthy nobles, including Richard Waller, who famously kept Charles Duke of Orleans at Groombridge after capturing him at the Battle of Agincourt. Completing his new house in 1662 Packer then started thinking about his garden. From 1674 the gardens surrounding Groombridge House were laid out by Packer, assisted by John Evelyn, a horticulturist and famous diarist. Evelyn was a multi-talented man who showed an unusually modern concern with the problems of urban living, and a reverence for gardens as an escape from them. In 1660 Evelyn was a founder member of the Royal Society, established to promote science. In 1661 he wrote a paper on air pollution in London - the Inconveniencie of the Aer and Smoak of London Dissipated. This was the first book written on pollution in London. In contrast to the smoke of London Evelyn proposed that the "aer and genius of gardens operate upon human spirits towards virtue and sanctity" (quoted in British Museum literature). At Groombridge Place Evelyn conceived a series of formal gardens arranged as "outside rooms" of the house. Although Evelyn was generally formal in his gardening ideas, the sense of blurring the boundary between indoors and outdoors was actually a theme that would emerge once again in the twentieth century. Some of Evelen's garden rooms at Groombridge also preempted modern design in creating an artfully "natural" landscape. The Secret Garden is the best example. It is suggested that this was Packer's favourite garden. He is supposed to have died here in 1686 while reading a book.

 

 

 

 

Adventure trail through the Enchanted Forest

The garden which we see today is close to Evelyn's and Packer's original layout. There is also a very modern garden laid out along a wooden ridge above the formal garden area. This is billed as the "Enchanted Forest" and is an interesting take on naturalistic garden design which has been popular in England since the nineteenth century. The Enchanted Forest offers alternative routes along the wooden ridge, with younger or more adventurous visitors usually choosing an adventure trail which runs through the trees, and up into the leaf canopy. This part of the garden is often dismissed by purists as an adventure playground for the children, but Evelyn's ideas of a garden as a place of "sanctity" are actually reflected at various points along the walk, where you might encounter a totem pole, or mounds laid out as a conical maze, or a fairy glade. In its mystical interludes I would suggest the Enchanted Forest continues to reflect the preoccupations of the garden's seventeenth century creators.

After Packer died in 1686 Groombridge lay empty for twenty years, but was eventually rescued by new owners. Today the house is privately owned, while the grounds are open to the public. This is a good place for a family visit, with lots of fun to be had in the Enchanted Forest, and historical interest for those so inclined.

There is a restaurant and gift shop.

In 1982 director Peter Greenaway used the formal gardens at Groombridge as the main location for his film The Draughtsman's Contract, and in 2005 filming for Pride and Prejudice took place here.

 

 

 

Opening Times: Open daily 31st March to 4th November, 10am - 5.30pm (or dusk if earlier). Also open for February half term 11th - 19th February.

Address: Groombridge Place, Groombridge, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN3 9QG

Directions: Groombridge is on the A264 between Tunbridge Wells and East Grinstead. Click here for an interactive map centred on Groombridge Place.

Access: There is level access in the formal gardens, shop and restaurant, but the Enchanted Forest area is more difficult with steep slopes and steps.

Contact:

telephone: 01892 861444

e-mail: office@groombridge.co.uk

web site: http://www.groombridge.co.uk/home.htm