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The West Green House Garden surrounds the famous West Green House, an eighteenth-century building in Hampshire, England. While famous for its gardens, the house is also a grade II listed building and is known for opera during the summer seasons.West Green House itself has a myriad of history to explore. It was built by General Henry Hawley in 1720. Hawley left the estate to the son of his housekeeper, William Toovey Hawley, and his descendants remained at West Green House until 1898.
West Green was then brought by the Playfair family, who employed architect Robert Weir Schulz to redesign parts of the house and begin to construct new gardens. At this time, despite the land remaining relatively small, the gardens were known locally for their beauty.
The next tenants of West Green House were Evelyn, the Dowager Duchess of Wellington and her cousin Yvonne Fitzroy. They inhabited West Green until 1939, thanks to the kindness of Sir Victor Sassoon, who purchased the property for Evelyn. Sassoon left West Green to the National Trust in 1957. However, Yvonne continued to garden and kept the house until her death in 1971, when it became the property of the National Trust.
Lord Alistair McAlpine was the first to live in West Green after this. He contributed to the gardens by providing a varied collection of garden structures and neo-classical decorations and statues created by Quinlan Terry.
Disaster struck West Green in 1990 when, as Lord Alistair McAlpine’s residency was coming to an end, an IRA bomb was detonated in the building’s beautiful forecourt. The damage was so severe that West Green’s future was thrown into doubt as the National Trust considered demolition. However, the house was saved and the Trust worked to repair West Green and its famous gardens.
The lease for the house was brought by Marlyn Abbot in 1993 from the National Trust and the house has been run as a private garden ever since. Abbot had previously developed famous gardens across the world, including Kennerton Green in Australia.
Under Abbot’s experienced eye, the gardens have been restored and further developed. Abbot has expanded the garden so it extends beyond its eighteenth-century walls and reaches a beautiful lake. The lake, formed in 1997, is in the center of an array of perimeter gardens. One of these gardens is known as the ‘Paradise Garden’ and showcases a series of flowing fountains. Another garden features over 190 meters of serpentine iris, which is crossed by several bridges encrusted by wisteria.
One particular feature to be noted is the grand water staircase, also created by Marylyn Abbot, which acts as a focal point for the Nymphaeum fountain. This fountain was designed by Quinlan Terry and is a wonderful centerpiece of West Green House Garden.
The garden remains as Marylyn’s private home, and as such, is often closed over winter breaks. However West Green is open to the public from March to December, and frequently plays hosts to Opera shows.
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