Woodham & New Haw  Horticultural Club

English Heritage

18 Apr 2016

English Heritage Members - £18 pp
Non English Heritage Members £28 pp.
Supplement for the House Tour at 11am, duration 90 minutes: £5 pp (min 11, max 25 persons)
Supplement for the Garden Tour at 2pm, duration 60 minutes: £5 pp (min 11, max 25 persons)
NB: The supplements apply to both members and non-members of English Heritage.

Eltham Palace reopened on 3 April 2015 after a £1.7 million project with five new rooms for visitors to enjoy. You will be able to experience the decade of decadence at Eltham Palace, as you are transported back to the 1930s. 

Created for millionaires Stephen and Virginia Courtauld, Eltham Palace is part showpiece of Art Deco design and 1930s cutting-edge technology, and part medieval royal palace. Make yourself at home, try on clothes, play games and listen to music, as a guest of the Courtaulds.

Explore 19 acres of beautiful gardens with new interpretation throughout. Admire the herbaceous border designed by award-winning garden designer Isabelle Van Groeningen. Take time to wander around the Rock Garden with its series of pools and cascades running down to the moat. Cross the moat on London's oldest working bridge, and smell the roses in the sunken rose garden. Virginia had a passion for roses, and even had a red rose named after her. Stephen was also a keen gardener and won several Royal Horticultural prizes for the orchids he grew in the glasshouses at Eltham.

In addition, there is the usual Tearoom and shop. Picnics are allowed in the grounds.

For information regarding accessibility, loan of wheelchairs, special diet requirements etc, please contact the venue on 020 8294 2577 or visit the Eltham Palace and Gardens website.

11 May 2016

£8 per person

We last visited Hampton Court Nurseries in 2009 and this is another rare opportunity to see “behind the scenes” at Hampton Court’s own plant nursery. There will be a guided tour and talk by Martin Einchcomb.

Travel is NOT included in this trip and so you will need to make your own way to Hampton Court in time for an 11am start.

The tour will last a little over an hour. This visit is limited to 20 places only and so early booking is advisable.

Details of the group meeting place at the Palace will be available in the joining instructions, which will be sent to you about 4 weeks prior to the visit.

You will not need to pay a Palace/Gardens admission charge to join the tour. Please note, however, that if you wish to explore the rest of the Palace and Gardens before or after the tour then entrance is subject to the usual admission charges. For more information on the venue please visit the Hampton Court Palace website.

English Heritage

15 Jun 2016

English Heritage members £20 pp
Non English Heritage Members £27.50 pp

Thomas, 2nd Earl de Grey (1781–1859), was responsible not only for designing the new house at Wrest Park but also for carefully furnishing its interiors. He scoured auction houses and dealers to find the perfect pieces to complement the 18th-century French style of the house. 'Old Buhl' cabinets, clocks and china purchased in Paris sat alongside newly commissioned sideboards, chandeliers and looking glasses supplied by the leading London manufacturing firms. 

The respect that de Grey showed for the gardens created by his ancestors, including the statues, also extended to the paintings which he inherited. He decided to gather together the family portraits at Wrest Park, moving them not only from the old house but also from his London property.

Although the majority of these collections were dispersed when the house was sold in 1917, full-length portraits still hang within massive gilt frames in the Staircase Hall, and the sitting room is furnished to reflect the original style of the 1840s. The gardens and dairy contain a remarkable collection of 18th- and 19th-century statues.

Discover over 90 acres of beautiful gardens showcasing French, Dutch, Italian and English styles side by side. Fancy French curves and bold Italian geometry provide an opportunity for contrast through our dynamic bedding displays.

Keep an eye out for our hidden gems in the gardens. These include an ornate marble fountain, the 18th century Bowling Green House, a Chinese Temple and Bridge and over 40 statues dotted around the grounds. The Chinese Temple and Bridge originally formed part of a tableau imitating scenes found on Chinese willow pattern plates. The Long Water is encased on either side by walkways leading to the spectacular Archer Pavilion. Built by Thomas Archer between 1709-11, this baroque pavilion, with its stunning interior, is the focal point of the gardens. 

Included in the price is a private guided tour of the Gardens. As the maximum is 20 persons per tour, there will be one tour at 11am and one at 2pm – both lasting 90 minutes.

There is the usual Tearoom, Shop and Plant Centre.  Picnics are allowed in the Great Gardens.

For information regarding accessibility, loan of wheelchairs, special diet requirements etc, please contact the venue on 020 8294 2577 or visit the Wrest Park website.

National Trust

13 Sep 2016

National Trust members £17 pp
Non National Trust members £31 pp

When Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild bought the Waddesdon estate it was only farmland - find out how he built this magnificent house you can visit today. Discover how the house was used then, and how it evolved to what we know today.  

The Wine Cellars were restored in 1994 and over 10,000 bottle of wine are stored within the vaults. Documenting 150 years of the Rothschild family’s ownership of two of the most famous Bordeaux vineyards: Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild. 
Open, Wed-Sun, 10-5pm, included in your Garden ticket.

The Garden then and now...
After buying the estate, Baron Ferdinand was quick to get to work on the land.  The crown of the hill was levelled, drives and banks were cut, and mature trees and formal gardens were planted. 

The Garden was designed to surprise and delight the Baron's guests at every turn.  In his day, a garden tour would include the Aviary, the ornamental Dairy, the huge glasshouses, romantic Pulham grottoes and a menagerie of deer, goats and llamas.

Ferdinand's sister and heir, Miss Alice, was also a keen gardener and continued the tradition of innovation, adding three-dimensional carpet bedding, which can still be seen on the Parterre today. 

We have NOT included private guided tours on this visit as there are a number of free ‘public’ talks and walks. These include two different garden walks, a talk about the Aviary, the Wine Cellar and a Discovery Talk about the House. However, these talks are limited in numbers and last 20-45 minutes. Full details will be available with your joining instructions nearer the date.

There are several catering outlets, plus the Manor Gift Shop, and a Wine Shop.

For information regarding accessibility, loan of wheelchairs, special dietary requirements etc, please contact the venue on 01296 653226 or visit the Waddesdon Manor website.