Lewes, Southover Grange Garden
Until I was nine years old, I lived in an old stone farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania. My parents were not farmers – my mother was a homemaker and my father was a television repair man who went out on service calls during the day and brought broken TVs home to his workshop attached to the house. Our nearest neighbor was a pig farmer who lived a mile up the road. I rode a bus to school over country roads for 40 minutes to school (King’s Highway Elementary) and 40 minutes back and I went to school with the Amish children who lived on farms down the hill on what was the first paved road that bisected the dirt road (Telegraph Road) where we lived.
My mother was a homemaker who didn’t drive. She occupied herself by reading, housework, and gardening. She had surrounded two sides of the one-acre lot on which our house stood with forsythia bushes that provided a brilliant yellow canopy when they were in bloom. Her yard was also filled with flower gardens and flowering bushes and vines that had bright colors and intoxicating scents. I grew up familiar with hydrangeas (pink, blue, and white), purple and white lilacs, wisteria (where my grandfather taught me to catch bees with my bare hands), tulips of all varieties, daffodils, lily of the valley, irises of all colors, fuchsia (called bleeding hearts), jack-in-the-pulpit, and so much more. My mother and I would take walks through the woods while she searched for new wildflowers to add to her garden.
This early introduction to flowers and flowering bushes gave me a life-long attraction to visiting gardens and appreciating flowers wherever I lived or traveled. As I look back over my travel and other photos, I can frequently be seen sitting, kneeling, or standing by beautiful flowers.
My favorite flower garden is one discovered by accident the first time I visited the town of Lewes in Suffolk, England. In the center of the town is a stone-enclosed garden attached to the Southover Grange. The first time I saw the garden, the visit to the town of Lewes was intentional but the discovery of the garden was accidental. The next three times I visited Lewes, my primary motivation was to see the garden and have my picture taken in it again. Visiting this garden and having my picture taken in it again is on my permanent bucket list. As long as I am able, I will visit this town and this garden every time I visit England.
Southover Grange is a house of historical significance and is Grade II* listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in 1572 by William Newton and owned by this family for the next three hundred years. After this, it was the residence of many notable people until it was bought by the local Council in about 1945. Today it is owned by the East Sussex County Council. It now houses the Lewes Register Office which provides Marriage Ceremony Packages, civil partnerships and citizenship ceremonies. The gardens host events from local theatre to beer and gin festivals.
The gardens are stunning no matter the time of year. They do not charge admission and maintaining the gardens must be quite expensive. Below are a few of the many pictures I have taken of the gardens over the years.
So, if you’re ever in England and have some spare time, take the train or drive to Lewes to visit the Southover Grange Gardens (and Anne of Cleaves house and garden). The town itself is also quite charming with many lovely pubs, restaurants, and shops. Be prepared for some walking as the town has many steep streets but it is well worth the effort.
Lifetime musings 