Highdown, Worthing, West Sussex, England

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

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

The present house was built at Highdown in about 1820 and was owned at some time in the 19th century by the Lyons family (Head Gardener pers comm, 1997). In 1909 the house and surrounding grounds were bought by Major, later Sir Frederick, Stern and his wife. From that date until Sir Frederick's death in 1967 they created and developed the present gardens, in and around a former chalk pit, partly as an experiment in gardening on chalk. Many of the original plants were grown from newly imported seed or stock obtained directly from contemporary collectors such as Frank Kingdon-Ward and Reginald Farrer or, through purchase from James Veitch's nursery at Coombe Wood, material collected by E H Wilson, George Forrest and Joseph Rock.

Lady Stern maintained the gardens for a further year until in 1968, in accordance with her husband's wishes, she gave them, with the house, to Worthing Borough Council who since the mid-1970s have restored and managed the gardens to the Sterns' original design including the propagation of their original stock. In 1980 the Council sold the freehold of the house and its immediate surroundings to the Chapman Group who run it as a conference centre and club. The site remains (1997) in divided private (commercial) and local authority ownership.