The Creasey Years

In 1971, Brian & Diana Creasey bought the West Wing that had remained unoccupied for more than 30 years, together with 1½ acres of land including the 17th century dovecote. Though greeted by 6ft tall brambles, briars, nettles and a concrete jungle, over the next twenty years the Creaseys managed to create beautiful & atmospheric gardens, successfully incorporating restoration of the old with elements of their own design. In 1985, they opened their gardens to visitors under the National Gardens Scheme.

In 1993, and after several failed attempts, they personally acquired a further 4½ acres of the grounds for restoration. Then, in 1995, with the permission of the owners, the Creaseys and a small but willing army of professional and amateur volunteers began the monumental task of fully restoring the 23-acre Gardens of Easton Lodge.

In 2003, The Gardens of Easton Lodge Preservation Trust was formed and in 2004 it became a registered charity (nr 1101442).
In 2004, and after 400+ years of ownership, the Spurriers sold off the 1600-acre estate to Land Securities plc, the largest property company in the UK.

From 2002 The Gardens faced possibly their greatest threat in the form of a planned second runway at nearby Stansted Airport which would have seen the point of aircraft take-off fall approximately 700 yards from their boundary. However in May 2010 after a long campaign by Stop Stansted Expansion and the election of a new Government, Stansted Airport announced that it had withdrawn its application to build a second runway at the airport.

When Brian & Diana Creasey retired at the end of April 2008 (although still remaining in Warwick House), The Preservation Trust took over the day-to-day running of the Gardens.

Visit our links page if you are interested in a book and DVD about the Creasey's time at the gardens.