Dewstow House, Caldicot, Wales
Record Id: 1085
The gardens were created between about 1895 and 1920 by the celebrated firm of James Pulham & Son for Henry Oakley. Following Oakley’s death in 1940 and the deprivations of the Second World War, the ponds and tunnels were roughly filled in and the garden reverted to pasture with a few good trees. The Harris family purchased Dewstow House in 2000, unaware, but for the crumbling remains of two glasshouses, of what lay concealed. Restoration of the rock and water gardens is currently in progress.
Site timeline
1893: Henry Oakley bought Dewstow.
1940: Henry Oakley died.
1950 to 1959: The estate was broken up and the Harris family bought the land, but not the house and garden.
1960 to 1969: The rockwork and underground grottoes were filled in with spoil from the nearby M4 construction, and the gardens returned to agricultural use.
2000: The Harris family bought the house and gardens thus reuniting the estate, and discovered the buried garden.
People associated with this site
Creator: Henry Roger Keene Oakley (died 1940)
Head Gardener: Edward Pearce
Landscape Designer: James Pulham (3) (born 1845 died 1920)
Features
Pulhamite
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