Homewood, Knebworth, Stevenage, England

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

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

The Dowager Countess of Lytton employed Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) around 1901-2 to build Homewood (referred to by Lutyens as 'Homewards') as a modest dower house for her, siting the house and accompanying formal and informal gardens at the southern end of Park Wood, then part of the Knebworth estate. The garden plan by Lutyens (dated 5 December 1901) does not appear to have been carried out exactly, and the layout was later developed somewhat. The participation of Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) in Lutyens' layout is a possibility, although no formal input is known of, and her work at nearby Knebworth House (see the description of this site elsewhere in the Register) did not occur until 1907. The exuberant herbaceous border shown in Weaver's account of Homewood (1913) is characteristic of her style. The house remains (1999) in private ownership.