A Great Day Out in Victorian Essex
Audley End is a glorious Jacobean stately home owned by English Heritage. Its kitchen garden looks much as it would have done in late Victorian times, full of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers to supply the household.
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What makes this garden unique is that it is cultivated organically, the produce ending up in the English Heritage shop on site, for visitors to buy, rather than on the banqueting table.
Restoration
Gate into the gardens
Garden Organic, the national charity for organic growing, began restoring the overgrown and semi-derelict garden with English Heritage on the 1st January 1999, and the garden was opened to the public just three months later.
There are three clearly identifiable areas: the Historic Garden, the 21st Century Garden, and the Orchard. The Historic Garden and the 21st Century Garden are open to the public but the orchard area will be progressively developed over the years.
A garden for the 21st Century, using modern organic techniques, is to be found behind The Historic Garden. The Orchard contains hundreds of fruit trees, which will be used to research better methods of non-chemical fruit production.
The Historic Garden
First created in the 18th Century, this block, which was originally known as Lady Portsmouth's Garden after its owner, served Audley End House with produce throughout the year. Alterations during the 19th Century included the addition of a 170 ft long vinehouse and a Thomas Rivers orchard house.
The Kitchen Garden continued to serve the house until the Second World War when it passed into the hands of the state.
The historical kitchen garden is the most formal. It is over 300 ft long with the restored vinehouse dominating the northern wall. It is managed entirely organically but using techniques that would not have been out of place in the last decade of Queen Victoria's reign. Wherever possible varieties appropriate to the period - many from our Heritage Seed Library - have been used.
The Vinehouse
The vinehouse
Originally constructed around 1804 and recently restored to full working order, the vinehouse is one of the earliest and largest surviving in the country. It is believed that the vines are nearly 200 years old and were planted soon after the vinehouse was built. At the west end of the vinehouse you will find tomatoes and peppers, whilst in the centre is the showhouse, filled with ornamental plants. At the eastern end is the peach house.
Garden Structure
Gravel paths have been laid in the garden to provide a strong framework. This is in keeping with the original layout discovered through archaeological investigations on the site. The paths are edged with box plants - over two miles of these have been laid so far. Espalier fruit trees line the vegetable and cut flower beds, making a screen of formally trained plants.
The 21st Century Garden
Kitchen garden
This garden is situated behind the back sheds. It has been developed to display the modern methods used in organic gardening. The side borders have been designed to provide a habitat for a diverse range of wildlife, especially butterflies. The central compartment has a grass and clover lawn with a lavender hedge.
Audley End Organic Kitchen Garden is run by Garden Organic, which is Europe's largest organic gardening organisation. Membership entitles you to a quarterly magazine packed full of information, free gardening advice, unlimited free admission to our gardens at Audley End Organic Kitchen Garden and Garden Organic Ryton.
Facilities for those with a disability
The gardens and shop are accessible to wheelchair users. The area outside the garden is level and there are toilets suitable for vistors with disabilities nearby.
Saffron Walden, Essex, CB11 4JG
Tel / Fax: (01799) 522148
Opening times
For opening times, please check visitor details on the English Heritage website.
Admission charges
For admission charges, please check visitor details on the English Heritage website.
How to find us
Audley End House is about 1 mile west of Saffron Walden on the B1383. There are frequent train services running from Liverpool Street and Stansted, or from Cambridge, to Audley End Station, a mainline station about a mile and a half from Audley End House. There is a taxi rank opposite the station.
- Maps and details are available of how to get to Audley End Organic Kitchen Gardens by car, public transport or bicycle.
Top of pageGarden Organic is the working name of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA).
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