usa > Suggested Itineraries > Thomas Hardy Country > Mapperton Gardens

Mapperton Gardens

When you are looking for a romantic spot this is the place. Mapperton Gardens is a romantic valley garden deep into a lost Dorset among tumbling hills and unspoilt countryside. The gardens descend from the great lawn, through the formal topiary down to the valley garden. The manor house with its church, stable block, coach house, dovecote and courtyard is essentially a part of its countryside, a glorious harmony of golden sandstone. The house, Elizabethan in origin, enlarged in the late 1670s, is a marvellous example of a West Country manor that fits in with its surroundings and almost grows with them.

The valley gardens at Mapperton reflect at least three periods of history. When you walk though the garden you can notice them all. Start on the upper level, close to the house and you find yourself in an Italianate garden laid out by Ethel Labouchere in her husband's memory in the 1920s, complete with grottoes, stone ornamental birds and animals and a fountain court.
Below the wall and summer house are 17th century fish ponds. An orangery was added by Victor Montagu, former Member of Parliament for South Dorset, who extended the lower garden with specimen shrubs and trees in the 1950s.
When walking in the gardens you can discover many secret paths and walks. The surrounding countryside is an area of outstanding natural beauty, with many bridle paths and public rights of way. Further up the hill you have a stunning view looking east, Eggardon Hill and Hooke Park, and to the west and south, Beaminster, Lewesden Hill, Pilsdon Pen, Bridport and the cliffs along Lyme Bay.