Lost Gardens at Campsea Ashe

The original High House at Campsea Ashe and its estate of 2,350 acres was built in 1585 by John Glover, an aide to the Earl of Norfolk. It was sold circa 1600 to the Sheppard family who rebuilt the house on the site of the original building.
The Hon William Lowther bought the estate from the Sheppards in 1882-3. He died in 1912. His son, James William Lowther, the then "Speaker of the House of Commons" who had resided mainly in London prior to his father's death. ( He was made Viscount Ullswater in 1921 when he retired.) became the next owner and together with his wife spent many years maintaining the excellent gardens that had puzzled historians for decades.

The Garden displayed the hallmark of Gertrude Jekyll and comprised of long sections of water canals; three great avenues of limes, horse chestnuts and elms; fabulous cedars, an immaculate elliptical bowling green and yew hedging said to be 600 yards long, 8-10 feet thick which varied from 5 to 25 feet in height. These yews bordered a 150 yard long canal that ran southwards from the east of the house.
On one side was a walled vegetable garden that Lady Ullswater later converted into a flower garden containing sweetly fragrant plants, specimen trees and a Japanese garden.

The Park was divided in two sections, the managed side being set with large pollard oaks crossed by a single line of elms and grazed by red Suffolk cattle, Suffolk Punches and a flock of black horned sheep. The other section being rough and wild was grazed by a herd of fallow deer. The deer park was crossed by four lines of elms forming an avenue running up to the gardens by the house.

1949 saw the death of Vicount Ullswater, the house being bought by The Desborough Settlement Trust as a tax-saving measure. After the death of Lady Desborough in 1953, The house was sold again, demolished and its estate broken up. Much of park was ploughed up for crops Photographs published with the permission of Country Life Picture Library & A.C.


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