Longstock Park
Encyclopedia
Longstock Park is a country estate in the civil parish
of Longstock
in the Test Valley
district of Hampshire
, England
. Formerly Longstock Manor, of medieval origins, it was purchased by Sir Joshua East in the nineteenth century. On his death, the estate passed to his sons Alfred and Arthur. In 1946, the estate was sold to John Spedan Lewis
, founder of the John Lewis Partnership
. Lewis lived at Longstock House throughout his retirement until his death in 1963, after which the house became a retreat for the company's executives. The park is today home to a retail horticultural nursery, Longstock Park Nursery, and also accommodates an arboretum
and water gardens.
and Clematis viticella
, and the Gilchrist Collection of Penstemon
s. Immediately to the south is an 80 metre herbaceous border; running parallel to it is a clematis and fruit tree archway, flanked by beds of Buddleja cultivars. The nursery is open to the public throughout the year. During summer weekends, teas are sold in one of the greenhouses in aid of the local church or school.
http://www.longstocknursery.co.uk/
s of woodland garden with lakes and interconnecting islands, declared 'the finest water gardens' in the world by the International Water Lily Society. The gardens were formed by accident; in 1870, Alfred and Arthur East, the owners of Longstock House, dredged gravel from the banks of the River Test to build a private road to their property, creating the lake in the process.
When the Easts sold the Longstock Estate in 1914, Reginald Beddington, son of the new owner, decided to make an aesthetic feature of the water.
The water gardens are usually open to the public on alternate weekends during the summer. http://www.longstockpark.co.uk/ppf_fs.htm
, which lies approximately 2.7 miles (3.5 km) to the south-west.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Longstock
Longstock
Longstock is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It lies on the western bank of the River Test, to the north and west of Stockbridge and east of Leckford. The parish has a population of around 450...
in the Test Valley
Test Valley
Test Valley is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. Its council is based in Andover....
district of Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Formerly Longstock Manor, of medieval origins, it was purchased by Sir Joshua East in the nineteenth century. On his death, the estate passed to his sons Alfred and Arthur. In 1946, the estate was sold to John Spedan Lewis
John Spedan Lewis
John Spedan Lewis was a British businessman and the founder of the John Lewis Partnership.The elder of two sons of John Lewis, who had opened the John Lewis department store on Oxford Street, London, Spedan Lewis joined the business at 19 and in 1914 assumed control of his father's second shop,...
, founder of the John Lewis Partnership
John Lewis Partnership
The John Lewis Partnership is an employee-owned UK partnership which operates John Lewis department stores, Waitrose supermarkets and a number of other services...
. Lewis lived at Longstock House throughout his retirement until his death in 1963, after which the house became a retreat for the company's executives. The park is today home to a retail horticultural nursery, Longstock Park Nursery, and also accommodates an arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
and water gardens.
Nursery
The nursery is set in and around a brick and flint walled garden, and is home to the NCCPG National Collections of BuddlejaBuddleja
Buddleja, often misspelled Buddleia but commonly known as the Butterfly Bush, is a genus of flowering plants. The generic name bestowed by Linnaeus honours the Reverend Adam Buddle , a botanist and rector in Essex, England, but who could never have seen a plant of the genus.-Classification:The...
and Clematis viticella
Clematis viticella
Clematis viticella or "Virgin's Bower", is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family; it is native to Europe. The climber was the first clematis imported into English gardens, where it was already being grown in 1569 by Hugh Morgan, Apothecary to Queen Elizabeth, the "Virgin Queen"...
, and the Gilchrist Collection of Penstemon
Penstemon
Penstemon , Beard-tongue, is a large genus of North American and East Asian plants traditionally placed in the Scrophulariaceae family. Due to new genetic research, it has now been placed in the vastly expanded family Plantaginaceae...
s. Immediately to the south is an 80 metre herbaceous border; running parallel to it is a clematis and fruit tree archway, flanked by beds of Buddleja cultivars. The nursery is open to the public throughout the year. During summer weekends, teas are sold in one of the greenhouses in aid of the local church or school.
http://www.longstocknursery.co.uk/
Water gardens
The water gardens comprise three hectareHectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s of woodland garden with lakes and interconnecting islands, declared 'the finest water gardens' in the world by the International Water Lily Society. The gardens were formed by accident; in 1870, Alfred and Arthur East, the owners of Longstock House, dredged gravel from the banks of the River Test to build a private road to their property, creating the lake in the process.
When the Easts sold the Longstock Estate in 1914, Reginald Beddington, son of the new owner, decided to make an aesthetic feature of the water.
The water gardens are usually open to the public on alternate weekends during the summer. http://www.longstockpark.co.uk/ppf_fs.htm
Arboretum
The arboretum comprises 28 hectares of mature trees, including a fine pinetum with many exotic conifers. The arboretum is opened to the public in concert with the water gardens.Location
The nearest town is StockbridgeStockbridge, Hampshire
Stockbridge is a small town and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It has an acreage of and a population of little under 600 people according to the 2001 census in Hampshire, England. It lies on the River Test, in the Test Valley district and renowned for trout fishing. The A30 road goes through...
, which lies approximately 2.7 miles (3.5 km) to the south-west.