A Community Garden Brings History to Life at Hughenden Manor

Hughenden Manor in Buckinghamshire, England, was home to former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli in the 19th century. Today, school children tend to the plots in the kitchen garden and it’s become a vibrant learning experience for community groups too.

Hughenden Manor’s walled vegetable garden first opened to the public in 2005, following a huge restoration effort. Volunteers transformed the overgrown wasteland into a lush kitchen garden and they were keen to show it off.

When Benjamin Disraeli, the Victorian Prime Minister and novelist, lived on the estate with his wife and servants, the walled garden provided all the fruit and vegetables for the house. Queen Victoria regarded Benjamin Disraeli as her favourite Prime Minister, and she dined with him at the Manor in 1877.

When he died, Disraeli left the house to his nephew. The War Ministry requisitioned it during the Second World War and used it as a centre for making maps of bomb targets. This made the property a primary target for invading forces, but fortunately it survived.

However, the walled garden became seriously neglected, with unkempt grass and weeds taking up most of the space. In 1949, the owners of the Manor gave it to the National Trust who still owns the property today. In the 1970s some of the derelict walls were repaired in the kitchen garden, and in the 1980s gardeners reinstated the 19th century cruciform path.

In the 1990s, gardeners planted fruit trees and bushes around the walls and in the grounds. Floral borders supplied cut flowers for the manor house. Today, the gardens boast 57 varieties of old English apple tree, some within the walled garden, and the rest in the orchard which doubles as a picnic area for visitors. There are also 12 pear trees, four cherry trees, five plum trees, four fig bushes, one apricot tree and one quince plant.

The full scale restoration project didn’t begin until 2003 when National Trust volunteers, led by the property’s education manager and the Gardener in Charge, reinstated the garden to its former glory and opened it as a visitor attraction.

It involved a lot of hard work, removing the overgrowth and putting fresh paths in. The chalky, flint-infested soil was unsuitable for vegetable gardening and the work party had to buy in lots of topsoil so that fruit and vegetables would grow. A group of horticulture students from a local college prepared and planted the first Victorian vegetable plots and borders.

Today, as you walk through the old wooden door into the walled garden, you see the seasonal crops, the fruit trees, bug hotels and children’s projects.

When I visited, there was a good crop of rhubarb beside the entrance, some raised beds, and a couple of glorious scarecrows. As I walked up the path past fruit trees and beds of salad leaves, Brian Fenn one of the National Trust’s 59 volunteer gardeners, greeted me. He explained the decision to use so many raised beds and elaborated on the planting scheme used.

“School children and college students do most of the planting,” he told me. “It’s an educational resource, used by Bucks Adult Education, schools and colleges. Teachers bring their pupils here to learn about gardening. The raised beds make it easier for the children to use and they’re in vogue at the moment.”

The garden reflects the range of fruits and vegetables that would have grown during its Victorian heyday — when Benjamin Disraeli lived in the Manor.

“The children do a lot of pots planting,” Brian continued. “It enables kids who don’t have a garden at home to see that they can grow just about anything in a pot.” He showed me pots of strawberries, squashes, herbs, tomatoes, beans, peas, lettuce and potatoes.

“The children have made some fabulous scarecrows too!” He pointed to a tall, smiling figure behind me, wearing a tweed jacket, a trilby and standing in the middle of the vegetable patch. Pupils from Great Kingshill School, in Buckinghamshire, made the Scarecrow, and called it Herbert.

Along the path, they’d dressed another scarecrow as a land girl with a ration book in her pocket, a scarf round her head in true 1940s style, and a shovel. This scarecrow was the handy work of 10-year-old children. ‘Land girls worked on the farms doing the work previously done by men who were away fighting,’ read the sign.

‘Dig for Victory’ was the scarecrow theme, presumably to complement the war-mapping exhibition in the Manor. School children created the two scarecrows as part of a competition but the judges couldn’t choose between them and split the first prize equally between the two groups.

A willow tunnel adorned the lawn — it’s a big hit with the kids. Volunteers who attended a course led by a willow grower from Wiltshire built the tunnel.

The planting schemes in the main beds included lettuce, chard, onions, potatoes, parsley, mint, broad beans and beetroot.

Regular events attract members of the public to the house and grounds. “We have Apple Days every October when people can taste different apple varieties grown on the estate,” said Brian.

In recent times, staff have limited the number of visitors because of the pandemic, but people continue to enjoy the kitchen garden and adjoining parkland, while learning about the incredible history of this glorious place.

Find out more here: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hughenden