Museum Historic Gardens Exhibition

Alongside our collection of over 50 historic buildings, did you know that the Weald & Downland Living Museum is also home to no less than seven historic gardens?

These gardens have been recreated to show the transitions of gardens from the early 16th century through to the late 19th century.

We are delighted to be holding an exhibition in our Longport Gallery, looking at the history and creation of the Museum’s Historic Gardens, how they have developed over time and the work our team carry out to maintain and interpret these wonderful outside spaces. We will also be exploring the use of plants, from culinary and medicinal herbs to their uses in textiles and dyes, in addition to how they support the biodiversity and sustainability of our natural environment.

The historic gardens date back to 1983, when the first small garden was created for the Toll House and the herb garden was also established at Bayleaf Farmhouse. By 1986, along with the Museum’s plans for the ambitious interpretation programme for Bayleaf, historian Dr Sylvia Landsberg was drawing up plans for appropriate historic gardens.

It was during this time that local resident, Bob Holman with a background in agriculture, was invited to be the Museum’s Head Gardener. Bob became a much-valued member of the team, creating seven period gardens for the houses. He worked at the Museum until 2007 when he retired and was succeeded by Carlotta Holt, who is still the Museum’s Head Gardener to date.

Bob very sadly passed away in 2023, however he leaves a wonderful and much valued legacy, which we are incredibly thankful for and that we continue to celebrate in this exhibition, where we will showcase the gardens that he created, along with information on the uses of the plants and herbs that are grown within them.

We are also delighted to display our copy of Gerard’s 17th century herbal book. The book, which includes woodcut and herbarium samples, was kindly donated to the Museum’s library collection by Pearl O’Leary, who was a volunteer at the Museum for many years.

The exhibition runs until 18th August 2024. Book tickets to find out more about the historic gardens before exploring them for yourself – click here