Anglesey Abbey, Lode, England

The enclosed gardens are set around the house and feature a wide selection of planting. The Rose garden features simple rectangular beds and contains a sundial dating from 1788 added by Lord Fairhaven. From the rose garden is a double avenue of alternating crab apples and cherries crossed by another avenue of the same trees with a Rond-point leading to the hyacinth garden.

The Dahlia garden is enclosed by curving beech hedges, backed by Lombardy Poplars and features a variety of garden ornaments including one of ‘Time' attributed to Rysbrack. An arboretum leads from the side of the house leads to the Quarry Pool which is backed by trees and encircled by ornaments including the Drakelow Urn which is set on a Roman drum pedestal.

The garden features many walks, avenues and lawns each with their own notable statuary.

Coronation Avenue: Two Sphinxes flank the entrance to the avenue which was constructed in 1937 and extended in 1939. The avenue originally featured a double avenue of planes and chestnuts, the planes removed after storm damage sustained during the 1960s.

Cross Avenue: planted with planes and chestnuts with two 18th-century obelisks at the entrance, the avenue terminates at each end in a circle of trees; one of Birch, one of Lombardy poplars, and each contains a central vase.

Daffodil Walk: renamed to the Jubilee Walk in 1977 ornamented with statuary.

Emperors' Lawn: a broad walk which contains four bay-like openings each containing a bronze urn. The walk ends with a collection of busts of Roman emperors in a semi-circle of copper beech and temple of Doric columns constructed in 1951 which houses a Porphyry vase and statuary from between 1748-1763.

Lime Avenue: with views to the mill, the avenue is flanked by statues of Samson and Philistines by Van Nost.

Temple Lawn: created in 1953 with golden yews and a green yew hedge also contains 12 Corinthian columns with two lions flanking the entrance and a copy of 'David' by Bernini in the center of the lawn.

Wrestlers' Lawn: lawn with central focal point of a group of statues depicting wrestlers (presumably of the classical period).

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

Mid-20th century gardens and grounds, with a notable collection of historic statuary, laid out by the owner, Lord Fairhaven, between 1926 and 1966.

 DESCRIPTION

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

Anglesey Abbey is located at Lode, about 9 kilometres north-east of Cambridge on the north side of the B1102 Cambridge to Bottisham road. The 40 hectare, level site lies surrounded by the flat, open Cambridgeshire fenland landscape, enclosed from it on all sides by dense perimeter plantations. The south-east boundary is formed by the B1102, while the Bottisham Lode bounds the site to the north-west. Farmland lies to west and east, the village of Lode lying off the northern tip of the gardens.

REFERENCES

Country Life, 115 (18 March 1954), pp 770-773; (25 March 1954), pp 860-863

L Roper, Gardens of Anglesey Abbey (1964)

N Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Cambridgeshire (1970), pp 291-292

Royal Commission Historic Monuments England: North-east Cambridgeshire (1972), pp 74-80, pls 118-120

G S Thomas, Gardens of the National Trust (1979), pp 93-95

J Kenworthy-Browne et al, Burke's and Savills Guide to Country Houses III, (1981) pp 3-4

Anglesey Abbey Garden, guidebook, (National Trust 1997)

Maps

Enclosure map of Bottisham and Lode, 1808 (Cambridgeshire Record Office)

OS Surveyor's drawings, 1817 (British Library Maps)

OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1886

    2nd edition published 1903

    3rd edition published 1926

OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1886

    2nd edition published 1901

Archival items

Sale particulars of Anglesey Abbey, 1926 (1026/SP227), (Cambridgeshire Record Office)

 Description written: June 2000

Amended: December 2000

Edited: January 2001