A century-old garden deep in the Devonshire countryside
All gardens have stories to tell. Some have secrets buried under layers of history and newly designed façades. Others change very little over the years, their stories tangible in old brickwork, in well- loved plants and trees, and in the voices that echo around them.
Chevithorne Barton is one such garden. Nurtured by different generations of the same family, its story is one of love and loss, of determination and obsession. Set in deep Devonshire countryside, this lovely late-Elizabethan manor house was given as a wedding present to Ludovic and May Heathcoat Amory in 1911. May devoted her life to creating a garden here, tending it well into her nineties, even after the property passed to her grandson Michael in 1966. He took care to preserve her cherished garden, but also developed it in his own way, adding an extraordinary collection of oak trees, which was world renowned by the time his son Ed inherited Chevithorne in 2016.
But the story begins in 1911, on the day that May and Ludovic moved in. With little or no existing garden at Chevithorne, the couple started making plans for it, and May continued working on the garden alone when her husband went away to fight in the First World War. The couple wrote to each other almost every day, and their letters contain constant references to the garden and their ideas for it. ‘I wish I’d seen our Michaelmas daisies at their best. I always love them with the little Japanese anemones,’ wrote Ludovic in October 1917. Less than a year later, he died on the Front Line, leaving May with three young boys to bring up. Her suffering was not to end there, as she went on to lose all three sons in the Second World War. Her response was to throw herself into her garden, channelling her grief and working tirelessly to perfect her vision.
In the Thirties, May had designed a series of terraces for the south-facing slope to the east of the house. Today, this charming terraced garden remains almost entirely as she set it out and as described in 1960 by Lanning Roper in Country Life: ‘The stonework of the steps, paths, walls and garden house on the top terrace are so overgrown with erigerons, campanulas, thymes, and endless other rock plants that all rigidity has been lost and there is a mellow softness, not only of the structural lines but of the stone itself, with its coating of moss and lichens... Over the years, plants have been allowed to seed and spread until the stone paths are almost lost under a carpet of bloom.’ Lanning’s words could be describing the garden as it is now. It seems right that the heart of the garden remains as May intended: formal, but not too formal and with a delightful softness that echoes the surrounding hills and landscape.
‘It was a naturalistic garden at a time when that was quite an innovative thing to do,’ says her great grandson Ed Heathcoat Amory, who lives here with his journalist wife Alice Thomson and their four children. ‘I think May saw the garden as something that should blend with the countryside, not stand apart from it – it was a holistic vision.’ From the lower lawn in the terrace garden, an iron gate leads to the orchard and woodland garden, where rare trees and shrubs, including a prized collection of yellow magnolias, thrive on the grassy slopes. In this area, May devised a series of elaborate waterways, diverting water from the mill leat that runs along the top of the valley and lending the garden an ever-present sound of running water. Again, Lanning’s words sum up the atmosphere: ‘There is a controlled abandon that makes this garden romantic, informal, completely satisfying and, above all else, unique.’
To this bucolic scene, Michael added his oak collection, begun in 1984 and now the largest of two National Collections in the UK. Colonising the woodland garden as well as two large fields beyond, it contains around 440 species and varieties, growing from an interest into a full-blown obsession as Michael travelled the world in search of new varieties. ‘The oak is a quintessentially British tree, bound up in our history,’ says Ed. ‘Ironically, only two species are native to this country, Quercus robur and Quercus petraea, but there are an amazing number of oaks around the world and, for my father, part of the fun and the challenge was working out which ones would survive here.’
There are some very rare species in the collection, including Quercus guyavifolia from south west China, which has leathery leaves with velvety bronze undersides, and Q. leucotrichophora from Nepal, with beautifully etched, textured bark. All are described and photographed in Michael’s book, The Oaks of Chevithorne Barton, which he wrote with fellow quercophile James MacEwen, now curator of the collection. Michael knew that he would not see his project come into its full glory, but his vision was clear. ‘In 50 years’ time, the garden and surrounding landscape at Chevithorne will have changed profoundly,’ he wrote. ‘My grandmother’s plantswoman’s garden will have evolved and be framed in the context of a landscape dominated by mature oak trees.’
Determined to continue building the oak collection, Ed and Alice are acutely aware of the legacy they have taken on. ‘Our native oaks are under threat from climate change and disease, so it’s important to look further afield at different species that might thrive in a warmer climate,’ says Ed. Working with James and head gardener Will Woodman, they are propagating new oaks, meeting fellow enthusiasts and dreaming of family holidays to far-flung places in search of new species. But with travel curtailed over the pandemic, they spent more time at Chevithorne, allowing them to get a deeper sense of how the house, the garden and the wider landscape fit together. ‘We have two inheritances, one from my great grandmother and the other from my father, and the next stage is to integrate those two visions,’ says Ed. They have planted a new hamamelis walk and plan new routes round the garden and arboretum to open up views and link the different areas. Inevitably, the garden will evolve, trees will fall and new opportunities will arise, but sweeping changes are not on the cards. The unique character of the place will be preserved, along with the memories of those who created it.
Chevithorne Barton’s garden is open in the afternoon for 28 days between May and August. For details, visit chevithornebarton.co.uk
Andrew Montgomery1/9Beside a Myrtus communis in full bloom, stone steps designed by May are carpeted with erigeron, moss and other self-seeding plants, just as they were in her day.
Andrew Montgomery2/9Looking back up the terraces, the old walls are almost completely hidden by a mass of self-seeded plants spilling down the stonework, with box and other shrubs clipped into domes for contrasting definition.
Andrew Montgomery3/9Tulips, aquilegias, alchemilla and other cottage- garden plants fill a wide herbaceous border on the lowest terrace. At the far end of the lawn, a gate in the wall leads to the woodland garden.
Andrew Montgomery4/9A beautiful Fagus sylvatica ‘Rohanii’ casts dappled shade in the lower woodland garden, where narrow inviting paths meander through a sea of white-flowered wild garlic and swathes of bluebells in spring. The sounds of birdsong and of running water, provided by the elaborate network of cascading streams and mini waterfalls devised by May, make this an enchanting place to wander through.
Andrew Montgomery5/9Magnolia ‘Solar Flair’, one of many yellow magnolias in the garden collected by Michael.
Andrew Montgomery6/9The deeply etched bark of Quercus leucotrichophora, a rare oak from Nepal.
Andrew Montgomery7/9Michael created a new arboretum, planting hundreds of oak specimens in a field beyond the woodland garden.
Andrew Montgomery8/9The bronze-hued leaves of Quercus guyavifolia from China, one of about 440 species and cultivars of oak at Chevithorne.
Andrew Montgomery9/9A beautiful Magnolia × soulangeana ‘Rustica Rubra’ stands at the far end of what would have once been May’s kitchen garden, which is now used by the family as a swimming pool garden.
