Nymans
Encyclopedia
Nymans, Handcross, Haywards Heath
, West Sussex, is an English garden developed by three generations of the Messel
family, from the late 19th century, and brought to renown by Col. Leonard C.R. Messel. Nymans, since 1953 a National Trust
property, is the origin of many sports, selections and hybrids, both planned and serendipitous, some of which can be identified by the term nymanensis, "of Nymans". Eucryphia × nymansensis
(E. cordifolia × E. glutinosa) is also known as E. "Nymansay". Magnolia × loebneri
'Leonard Messel', Camellia 'Maud Messel' and Forsythia suspensa
'Nymans', with its bronze young stems, are all familiar shrub to gardeners.
In the late 19th century, Ludwig Messel, a member of an unusually creative German family settled in England family, bought the Nymans estate, a house set in 600 acres on a sloping site overlooking the picturesque High Weald of Sussex, to make a setting for family life and entertainments, with Arts and Crafts
-inspired "garden room" planning where topiary
features contrast with new plants from temperate zones around the world. Messel's head gardener from 1895 was James Comber, whose expertise helped form plant collections at Nymans of camellia
s, rhododendron
s, which here, unusually at the time, were combined with plantings of heather
(Erica
) eucryphia
s and magnolia
s. William Robinson
advised in establishing the Wild Garden.
His son Lt. Col. Leonard Messel, succeeding to the property in 1915, replaced the non-descript Regency house with the picturesque stone manor, designed by Sir Walter Tapper
and Norman Evill in a mellow late Gothic/Tudor style. He and his wife Maude extended the garden to the north and subscribed to seed collecting expeditions in the Himalayas and South America.
The garden reached a peak in the 1930s and was regularly opened to the public. The severe reduction of staff in World War II was followed in 1947 by a disastrous fire in the house, which survives as a garden ruin.
The house was partially rebuilt and became the home of Leonard Messel's daughter Anne Messel and her second husband the 6th Earl of Rosse. At Leonard Messel's death in 1953 it was willed to the National Trust with 275 acres of woodland, one of the first gardens taken on by the Trust. Lady Rosse continued to serve as Garden Director.
The garden suffered much damage in the Great Storm of October 1987
, losing 486 mature trees and many of the shrubs. The pinetum, one of the garden's earliest features, was destroyed. Restorations are ongoing.
Haywards Heath
-Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...
, West Sussex, is an English garden developed by three generations of the Messel
Messel
Messel is a municipality in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg in Hesse near Frankfurt am Main in Germany.The village is first mentioned, as Masilla, in the Lorsch codex.Messel was the property of the lords of Groschlag from ca. 1400 to 1799...
family, from the late 19th century, and brought to renown by Col. Leonard C.R. Messel. Nymans, since 1953 a National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
property, is the origin of many sports, selections and hybrids, both planned and serendipitous, some of which can be identified by the term nymanensis, "of Nymans". Eucryphia × nymansensis
Eucryphia
Eucryphia is a small genus of trees or large shrubs of the Antarctic flora, native to the south temperate regions of South America and coastal eastern Australia. Traditionally placed in a family of their own, the Eucryphiaceae, more recent classifications place them in the Cunoniaceae. There are...
(E. cordifolia × E. glutinosa) is also known as E. "Nymansay". Magnolia × loebneri
Magnolia × loebneri
Magnolia × loebneri is a hybrid of two Magnolia species, the Japanese Magnolia kobus and M. stellata. crossed by Garteninspektor Max Löbner of Pillnitz, Germany, shortly before World War l; it first flowered in 1917...
'Leonard Messel', Camellia 'Maud Messel' and Forsythia suspensa
Forsythia suspensa
Forsythia suspensa is a flowering plant native to Asia. It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. Pinoresinol is a lignan found in F. suspensa.-Characteristics:...
'Nymans', with its bronze young stems, are all familiar shrub to gardeners.
In the late 19th century, Ludwig Messel, a member of an unusually creative German family settled in England family, bought the Nymans estate, a house set in 600 acres on a sloping site overlooking the picturesque High Weald of Sussex, to make a setting for family life and entertainments, with Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
-inspired "garden room" planning where topiary
Topiary
Topiary is the horticultural practice of training live perennial plants, by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, perhaps geometric or fanciful; and the term also refers to plants which have been shaped in this way. It can be...
features contrast with new plants from temperate zones around the world. Messel's head gardener from 1895 was James Comber, whose expertise helped form plant collections at Nymans of camellia
Camellia
Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Korea and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number...
s, rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s, which here, unusually at the time, were combined with plantings of heather
Erica
Erica ,the heaths or heathers, is a genus of approximately 860 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. The English common names "heath" and "heather" are shared by some closely related genera of similar appearance....
(Erica
Erica
Erica ,the heaths or heathers, is a genus of approximately 860 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. The English common names "heath" and "heather" are shared by some closely related genera of similar appearance....
) eucryphia
Eucryphia
Eucryphia is a small genus of trees or large shrubs of the Antarctic flora, native to the south temperate regions of South America and coastal eastern Australia. Traditionally placed in a family of their own, the Eucryphiaceae, more recent classifications place them in the Cunoniaceae. There are...
s and magnolia
Magnolia
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
s. William Robinson
William Robinson (gardener)
William Robinson was an Irish practical gardener and journalist whose ideas about wild gardening spurred the movement that evolved into the English cottage garden, a parallel to the search for honest simplicity and vernacular style of the British Arts and Crafts movement...
advised in establishing the Wild Garden.
His son Lt. Col. Leonard Messel, succeeding to the property in 1915, replaced the non-descript Regency house with the picturesque stone manor, designed by Sir Walter Tapper
Walter Tapper
Sir Walter Tapper was a British architect known for Gothic Revivalist architecture. On his death in 1935 his son Michael Tapper completed some of his works....
and Norman Evill in a mellow late Gothic/Tudor style. He and his wife Maude extended the garden to the north and subscribed to seed collecting expeditions in the Himalayas and South America.
The garden reached a peak in the 1930s and was regularly opened to the public. The severe reduction of staff in World War II was followed in 1947 by a disastrous fire in the house, which survives as a garden ruin.
The house was partially rebuilt and became the home of Leonard Messel's daughter Anne Messel and her second husband the 6th Earl of Rosse. At Leonard Messel's death in 1953 it was willed to the National Trust with 275 acres of woodland, one of the first gardens taken on by the Trust. Lady Rosse continued to serve as Garden Director.
The garden suffered much damage in the Great Storm of October 1987
Great Storm of 1987
The Great Storm of 1987 occurred on the night of 15/16 October 1987, when an unusually strong weather system caused winds to hit much of southern England and northern France...
, losing 486 mature trees and many of the shrubs. The pinetum, one of the garden's earliest features, was destroyed. Restorations are ongoing.