Events programme
Sunday 19 September 2010
We are delighted to be hosting a BOOK LAUNCH & SIGNING at 3pm on the courtyard:
THE GARDENS OF EASTON LODGE: Their Recovery & Renaissance
by Bella D’Arcy for Brian Creasey, with new photographs by Miriam Heppell
When, in 1971, Brian and Diana Creasey first visited an intriguing property near Great Dunmow on a house-hunting trip in Essex, they began an adventure that continues to this day. Over the next 39 years they would find themselves drawn into the challenge of restoring a major example of Edwardian ‘Italian’ garden design and recreating it in the twenty-first century.
This book tells the story of the renaissance of the various aspects of the gardens at Easton Lodge – the Edwardian gardens designed by Harold Peto for Frances Evelyn, Countess of Warwick, the trees planted by her son, Maynard Greville, and their context within the remains of the seventeenth-century park and gardens. It celebrates the hard work and determination involved in an imaginative and creative response to a piece of English garden history. The idea of the book came when the Creaseys were considering retiring from the gardens and selling up. Bella D’Arcy was concerned that all their efforts in bringing the gardens of Harold Peto to the public would be forgotten, and was determined that it should not be so. Working with Brian and Diana, the book was finished just before they left on August 3rd this year. The book is full of historic photographs with new ones by Miriam Heppell, a photographer regularly featured on www.gardensandpeople.co.uk.
The book costs £8.00, of which £2.00 goes to the Gardens of Easton Lodge Preservation Trust, and is also available from www.gardensandpeople.co.uk
Published by gardensandpeople, A5 landscape,
ISBN 978-0-9563451-1-0
SUNDAY 20 JUNE 2010 - NGS OPEN DAY & FATHER’S DAY
An extra-special day at Easton Lodge as we join with the NGS in opening the Gardens to raise funds not only for the Gardens of Easton Lodge but also for the nursing & caring charities supported by the NGS.
It is also FATHER’S DAY and we have arranged some super fun for children, with our face painter on site for most of the afternoon and a Treasure Hunt mid afternoon. And, especially for Dads and all you motor enthusiasts, we are hoping to display a vintage 1950 MG on the Front Lawn. For rose lovers, you should also be in for a treat!
Make a day of it and bring a picnic, or enjoy some of the delicious homemade snacks, cakes and drinks on offer in our cafe.
Entrance is just £2.50 per adult, with children entering free of charge.
Gardens open 12noon-6pm.
Dogs on leads are welcome.
As we are mainly laid to lawn, if the weather has been dry, the Gardens are generally accessible to wheelchair users.
VOLUNTEERS’ GET-TOGETHER - MON 29 MARCH 2010 8PM ONWARD
Looking forward to meeting up this evening around 8pm-8.30pm at The Three Horsehoes pub in Duton Hill to review the snowdrop season and plan for the spring and summer openings - not long to go now! New volunteers always welcome!
OPEN SUNDAYS IN SPRING, SUMMER AND AUTUMN 2010
We are so pleased to share with you the dates on which the Gardens will open to the public during the coming year. They offer many opportunities to enjoy the highlights of this idyllic 23-acre haven through its seasonal changes, from the drifts of spring-flowering narcissi, blue hazes of forget-me-not, muscari and hyacinths, the intoxicating fragrance and vista of the Rose Walk, the heady lavender hedge almost hiding the sunken Italian Garden and, with our superb variety of both native and nonnative trees, culminating in a majestic tapestry of Autumn foliage.
SUNDAY 18 APRIL
SUNDAY 23 MAY
SUNDAY 20 JUNE (FATHER’S DAY)
SUNDAY 18 JULY
SUNDAY 22 AUGUST
SUNDAY 19 SEPTEMBER
SUNDAY 10 OCTOBER
On each occasion, the Gardens will be open from 12noon until 6pm with last entry at 5pm (subject to weather conditions and nightfall!).
Entry is just £2.50 per adult, with children free.
Good dogs on leads are welcome!
As the Gardens are mainly laid to lawn, they are perfect for picnics (bring seating/rugs), and we will also be offering refreshments and delicious cakes (homemade by our wonderful volunteers), all being served from the cobble-stoned, Peto-designed Courtyard.
SUNDAY 2 MAY - FUN DAY AT DUTON HILL
The volunteers of the Gardens of Easton Lodge Preservation Trust are delighted to be joining with the Stop Stansted Expansion team once again, this time to bring you a day filled with fun for all the family this Bank Holiday Sunday. Nestling in this delightful corner of Essex, Duton Hill is one of many local communities under threat from the possible expansion of nearby Stansted airport. This event will raise funds equally for the Stop Stansted Expansion Campaign and for The Gardens of Easton Lodge Preservation Trust. More details to follow…….
We are looking forward to welcoming you!
* * * * * * * * * *
SUNDAY 14 MARCH - MOTHERING SUNDAY
This will be the last chance to visit our splendid snowdrop display in 2010. Although the prolonged cold spell meant that they were rather late in arriving, it was certainly worth the wait! And, the delay has also meant that we have the special opportunity to share the Gardens with visitors on Mothering Sunday, which has rarely happened in the past. So, please do come along on Sunday and see these glorious Gardens as they begin to surface from the long winter, offering tantalising glimpses of the pleasures to come when Spring and Summer unfold.
Why not enjoy an afternoon tea and slice of homemade cake, or try one of our delicious homemade soups, all being served from the delightful cobble-stoned, Peto-designed Courtyard. We are looking forward to welcoming you!
12noon-4pm with last entry at 3pm.
Adults £2.50 (children free)