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Garden Name: Sissinghurst Castle
Last Modified: 19/01/2011
Garden ID: 0247

pic: 0247_Sissinghurst.jpg

Owner: National Trust
Address:
Biddenden Road
Nr. Cranbrook

Postcode: TN17 2AB
County: Kent

tel: 01580 710 700
fax: 01580 710 702
website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sissinghurst
email: sissinghurst {at} nationaltrust.org.uk

Features: 
Sissinghurst is more than a garden. It is a garden in the ruin of an Elizabethan house, set in the middle of its own woods, streams and farmland and with long views on all sides across the fields and meadows of the Kentish landscape. When Harold Nicolson, the writer and diplomat, and Vita Sackville-West, poet, novelist and gardener, first came here in 1930, Sissinghurst was dripping in its own inheritance; it had been a medieval manor house and was visited by Queen Elizabeth in the 16th century before falling into ruins and being mistreated for nearly 300 year

English Heritage Grade:
I

Opening Times:
Garden & Vegetable Garden: 12th Mar - 30th Oct; Fri - Tues; 10.30am - 5pm, last admission to Garden 4.30pm before closing, or dusk if earlier
Closes earlier if dusk is before 5pm, 
Estate: open all year.

Best Times of Year to Visit: 
Spring / early summer
Autumn

To see: 
Spring bulbs, roses
Autumn herbaceous

National Collection: 


National Garden Scheme days: Yes
Comments: 

Parties / Coaches: Yes 
Comments: 

Viewing by Appointment: 
Comments:  

House Open for Viewing: Yes
Comments: The library and Vita Sackville-West's study are open 12 Mar - 30th Oct until 4pm

Admission Prices:
Gift Aid Admission (Standard Admission prices in brackets): 
Adult £11 (£10), child £5.50 (£5), family £27.50 (£25)

Parking: Yes
Lavatories: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Shop: Yes
Plants for Sale: Yes
Lunches: Yes
Teas: Yes
Refreshments: Yes
Picnics: Yes
Dogs allowed: Yes
Only on Lead: Yes
Events: Yes

Other Facilities:
Shop and Restaurant open 12th March - 20th Dec ; Fri to Tues; 10.30am - 5pm


Designer: 
Description of Garden:
The garden is made in the ruins of a large Elizabethan house set in unspoilt Wealden countryside. The garden described by Harold Nicolson as 'a succession of privacies', reflects the combination of thei owners' characters, he a classicist, who liked formality and clean lines, and Vita, a romantic who favoured profusion and surprise. She wrote, on first seeing the castle, "I fell in love; love at first sight. I saw what could be made of it. It was Sleeping Beauty's Castle, but a castle running away into sordidness and squalor, and a garden crying out for rescue." It is the combination of these two apparent opposite characters which has made the garden such a major influence on late 20th and early 21st century design.

The garden can best be described as a sequence of ten separate gardens linked by vistas. These include the White garden, Rose garden, Lime walk, Cottage garden, Tower lawn & Yew walk, Herb garden, the Moat walk and the Nuttery and the Orchard. The garden is of international importance and repute due to its historic interest, horticultural design significance, plant collection and reputation for the highest horticultural standards.


History: 
Sissinghurst Castle Garden is the twentieth century creation of two English aristocrats, Harold Nicolson & Vita Sackville-West. The tower dates from 1573 and was built for Elizabeth I's visit to Sissinghurst. At its base a tablet simply says "To Vita Sackville-West, who made this garden".

Local Inns: 
Sissinghurst Castle Farmhouse B&B, newly refurbished 5* accommodation on site. Call 01580 720 992 for details.
The Bull, Sissinghurst
Three Chimneys, Biddenden

Accomodation: 
B&B, Sissinghurst Farmhouse
Langley Oast, Langley
The Wren's Nest, Hawkhurst

Restaurants: 


Village/Town/Sightseeing: 
Sissinghurst
Cranbrook
Tenterden
Tunbridge Wells