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Mount Ephraim Gardens |
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Mount Ephraim Gardens tel: 01227-751496 Area: Kent |
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| Visitor Information | www.mountephraimgardens.co.uk | ||||||||||||
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| Mount Ephraim Gardens Kent All details updated* as of: 19/02/2008 |
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| Opening Days and Hours | |||||||||||||
Easter - end Sept; Wed - Sun & BH Mons; 11am - last entry 5pm. |
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| Parties
/ Coaches: Yes |
Groups
/ Coaches need Appointment: Yes |
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House
Open for Viewing: Yes |
National
Garden Scheme days: Yes 20th Apr & 28th Sept; 11am - 5pm |
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| Best
Times of Year to Visit: April, May, June |
To
see: Daffodils & other bulbs Blossom, Rhododendrons herbaceous border and roses |
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| Admission Prices | |||||||||||||
| Adult £4.50; Child £2.50; Groups £4 pp; Wheelchair users £1; Season £12 | |||||||||||||
| Onsite Facilities | |||||||||||||
| Parking:
Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes |
Shop:
Yes Plants for Sale: Yes Lunches: Yes |
Teas:
Yes Light Refreshment: Yes Picnics: Yes |
Dogs
Allowed: Yes On Lead only: Yes Special Events: Yes |
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| Other
Facilities: New Restaurant opened in 2007. Some areas difficult for the disabled to access. |
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| Garden Features | |||||||||||||
| English Heritage Garden Grade: | |||||||||||||
| National Collection: | |||||||||||||
| Description of Garden | Designer:
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| The nine acres of gardens are remarkable for their variety, and against a backdrop of trees of outstanding shapes and contrasts, they include an unusual topiary, water garden and arboretum, all set in the heart of a progressive fruit farm. Magnificent views extend over the Swale and Thames estuary, and the gardens are surrounded by woodland parks and orchards. Rose terraces enclosed by yew hedges slope down to a lake with a woodland area as a backdrop. Planting throughout is intensive giving colour and interest throughout the year. The Japanese rock garden, ornamented with stone huterns and based on a series of pools, follows an alternative gently winding route. These privately owned and maintained gardens show a wonderful contrast between the formal and informal. The gardens offer a fresh and relaxing approach for visitors. |
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| History of Garden | |||||||||||||
| For three hundred years Mount Ephraim has belonged to the Dawes family. The existing house was built by Edwyn (later Sir Edwyn) Dawes, who, having gone to sea as a boy, established himself as a wealthy and successful shipowner, becoming Chairman of the New Zealand Shipping Company in 1890. Around 1876, he decided to re-occupy the family home which had been let out since 1820. The elegant little house was riddled with dry rot and had to be demolished. It was replaced by the present, much grander building. On his death in 1903, his eldest son Willie inherited the estate. It was Willie Dawes who developed the garden, which was to become an absorbing and lifelong interest. When Willie died in 1920, his son Sandys was left with inadequate means to maintain the property. By the time that Sandys Dawes died in 1949 the garden was virtually derelict, the outer reaches so overgrown with weeds as to be impenetrable. In 1950 his son Bill moved into Mount Ephraim with his wife Mary and their four young children. They gradually restored the garden and after Bill retired in 1972 from the shipping company, of which he had also been chairman, he was able to devote more time to the garden. After his death in 1982, the garden was opened to the public. |
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| Nearby Kent Hotels, Facilities & Amenities | |||||||||||||
| Hotels
& Accommodation: The Garden Hotel, Boughton, Kent The White Horse, Boughton |
Restaurants: Martins Restaurant, Boughton Garden Hotel The White Horse |
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| Inns & Pubs: Three Horseshoes or Red Lion, Hernhill Dove, Dargate Shipwrights Arms, Oare |
Villages / Towns
/ Sightseeing: Canterbury City Faversham, market town |
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  - Kent |
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*Information
Updates
Garden guide and review © Gardens-Guide.com and Armchair Travel Co Ltd Armchair
Travel Co Ltd also operates these Click HERE for more details
0213_mountephr.jpg - Mount Ephraim Gardens (Kent)
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