 |
SUDELEY CASTLE GLOUCESTERSHIRE |
|
SUDELEY CASTLE GLOUCESTERSHIRE |
| Sudeley Castle,
set deep in the Cotswold Hills, is said to be Britain's most romantic castle. Now
the home of Lord and Lady Ashcombe and the Dent-Brocklehurst family, who have dedicated
themselves to its continued restoration, the Castle has become a much loved and oft
visited favourite of people from all over the world. The castle has had royal connections spanning more than a thousand years and has played an important role in the changing times of England's turbulent past. It was once Queen Katherine Parr's magnificent palace where she lived with Lady Jane Grey following her marriage to Sir Thomas Seymour. Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth I all visited Sudeley. King Charles I stayed here, and his nephew, Prince Rupert, established his headquarters at the castle during the Civil War. Following its desecration by Cromwell's troops Sudeley was neglected and derelict for two hundred years. However, its romantic situation and ruins attracted many visitors, including King George III, William Wordsworth and Victor Hugo. In 1837 John and William Dent of the Worcestershire glove making company bought Sudeley. They started and ambitious restoration programme that was continued by their nephew John Coucher-Dent who inherited the castle in 1855. Emma Brocklehurst, whom he had married in 1852, enthusiastically threw herself into Sudeley's restoration and at the same time forged strong links with the town. She kept detailed diaries, that, with contemporary photographs and mementoes, form the basis of the fascinating exhibition "The Life and Times of Emma Dent". The Study, opened only recently, features memories of the first World War from the family archives. Sudeley is famous for its gardens, many visitors coming time and again just to ramble among the nine integrated but individual garden settings. Among these are the Queen's Garden which is sited on the original Tudor parterre and is planted with old-fashioned roses and herbs. Designed by Jane Fearnley-Wittinghall, is is bordered on two sides by 150 year old double yew hedges. There is a Victorian Heritage garden, a white garden, a secret garden designed by Rosemary Verey, an the new "Butterfly Walk" which will form a backdrop for the rural and woodland planting that will give visitors spectacular new aspects of the castle. There is also a knot garden, planted in 1995 to commemorate the anniversary Queen Elizabeth I's visit after the defeat of the Spanish Armada. The design is based on the pattern of her dress in the allegorical painting of the Tudor Succession by Lucas de Heere that hangs in the castle apartments. The castle and gardens are
open from April to September with a full programme of events. Sudeley Castle : Winchcombe :
Cheltenham : Gloucestershire |
*