About Our Garden
A one/to one and a half acre site, bisected by one stream – the Millbrook-- and bordered by another.
Both are chalk streams, rising from sources in the village and fed by water from the Berkshire Downs through natural aquifers. The two streams meet in the garden and join the Thames at Wallingford.
The garden, in its present state, was designed from 1974 onwards by Simon Rendel, a Landscape Architect, practising locally, in London and further afield in UK. He was the author of the 'Tranquil Area Maps' which were adopted by the CPRE and are still referred to to this day.
Simon died in 1997 but work in the garden has been continued by his wife, with a team of helpers.
The garden is designed round three axes that intersect. They are easiest to perceive in the winter and give rise to vistas and focal points over the site.
Undoubtedly, what stands out is the presence of water throughout. The Millbrook varies in width and surprises visitors when it reappears as narrow streams. Several bridges make crossing easy.