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Garden Owners,
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Garden Name: Audley End
Last Modified: 08/02/2010
Garden ID: 0193

pic: 0193_AudleyEnd.jpg

Owner: English Heritage
Address:
Saffron Walden


Postcode: CB11 4JF
County: Essex

tel: 01799 522 842
fax: 01799 521276
website: www.english-heritage.org.uk
email: linda.dyer {at} english-heritage.org.uk

Features: 
Lancelot 'Capability' Brown landscape, Adam bridge, 1830's parterre, organic walled kitchen garden
Jacobean House with Robert Adam rooms, Canalettos etc. 
Archaeologically surveyed & restores Fish Hatchery and Historic kitchen with displays of utensils

English Heritage Grade:
I

Opening Times:
(Dates for 2009) 1st Apr - 30th Sept; Wed - Sun; 10am - 6pm; 
1st Oct - 1st Nov; Wed - Sun; 10am - 5pm;
2nd Nov - 20th Dec; Sat & Sun; 10am - 4pm
21st Dec - 31st Jan 2010; closed
1st Feb - 14th Feb; Sat & Sun; 10am - 4pm
15th Feb - 28th Feb; Wed - Sun; 10am - 4pm
1st Mar - 31st Mar; Wed - Sun; 10am - 5pm

Best Times of Year to Visit: 
June - July

To see: 
Parterre and Kitchen Garden

National Collection: 


National Garden Scheme days: no
Comments: 

Parties / Coaches: Yes 
Comments: 

Viewing by Appointment: Yes
Comments: Pre-booked guided tours 10am - noon 
extra fee payable 

House Open for Viewing: Yes
Comments: (Dates for 2009) 1st Apr - 30th Sept; Wed - Sun & BHs; 11am - 5pm (closes 2.30pm Sat)
1st - 1st Nov; Wed - Sun; 11am - 4pm. Closed 2nd Nov - 31st Mar (except 21/22nd & 28/29th Nov, and 5/6th, 12/13th & 19/20th Dec - Festive Fun Weekends. Last entry 1 hour before closing
Guided tours: 1st Apr - 30th Apr; Wed - Sun (except Easter)
1st May - 17th July; Wed - Fri (except 4th & 27-29th May)
1st Sept - 23rd Oct; Wed - Sun

Admission Prices:
House & Gardens. Adult £11.90; Child £6; Concessions £10.10; Family £29.80 (2 adults + 3 children)
Service Wing & Gardens: Adult £8.30, Child £4.20 (under 5s free); Concessions £7.10; Family £20.80. (not available on event days)

Parking: Yes
Lavatories: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Shop: Yes
Plants for Sale: Yes
Lunches: Yes
Teas: Yes
Refreshments: Yes
Picnics: Yes
Dogs allowed: Yes
Only on Lead: Yes
Events: Yes

Other Facilities:
Craft and Food Show
Garden Show
Country Show


Designer: 'Capability' Brown
Description of Garden:
Beautiful 'Capability' Brown designed landscape with a parterre, now restored, planted on the south side of the house in the 1830's. The River Cam winds through the grounds and is used to create a cascade, a pond garden and is crossed by a lovely Robert Adam designed bridge and by a Palladian Tea House. Other spectacular monuments include a "Temple of Concord" built to celebrate George III's (temporary) recovery from madness and several other follies designed and sited to draw the eye down a particular vista. The organic kitchen garden, a joint venture between between English Heritage and the Henry Doubleday Research Organisation, was opened in 2000 by Prince Charles and is laid out in a huge area surrounded by old brick walls. The 16th century brick stables to the south of it are older and more attractive than the house itself. The Mount garden, originally designed to allow guests at the house to promenade in the garden, viewing it from a height, is also scheduled to be restored.


History: 
This is an ancient site which was originally owned by a Benedictine Abbey. An enormous house, with expansive formal gardens, was built for Thomas Howard, the admiral who commanded the British fleet against the Armada and was later created Earl of Suffolk. It was acquired by Charles II in 1669, James I having previously described it as "too large for a King, but might do for a Lord Treasurer!". The vast wings on the house, which marched towards the River Cam, were pulled down after Sir John Griffin Griffin (later 1st Lord Braybrooke) bought the property in the mid-18th century. He favoured a more naturalistic approach and commissioned 'Capability Brown' to discard the formal rectangular layout and landscape the gardens and park very much as it appears today. The 3rd Lord Braybrooke planted the parterre in the 1830's. The property was acquired by English Heritage after WWII.

Local Inns: 
Axe & Compasses, Arkesden
Cricketers, Clavering

Accomodation: 


Restaurants: 


Village/Town/Sightseeing: 
Audley End
Saffron Walden