Scotney Castle, Royal Tunbridge Wells, England

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

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

The manor of Scotney is recorded as owned by Lambert de Scoteni in 1137. It reverted to the Crown in the mid-13th century before becoming the property of Roger de Ashburnham who built the Old Castle as a fortified manor house between 1378 and 1380. After the death of Ashburnham in 1392 and of his son in 1418, the manor was bought by Robert Chichele, probably for his brother Henry, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who settled it on his niece, the wife of John Darrell. Their descendants owned Scotney until the 1750s when parts of the estate were sold to settle family debts and, in 1775, the remainder including the Castle was also sold. It was bought by a Mr Richards who sold it in 1778 to Edward Hussey. Between 1783 and 1792 Hussey acquired all the former estate land owned by the Darrells. His grandson, Edward Hussey III, inherited in 1835 and, from then onwards, built the present 'New' Castle and laid out the gardens around the Old Castle in the Picturesque style. Edward Hussey III died in 1894 and was succeeded by his son, who made few changes, and in 1952 by his nephew, Christopher, who did much to ensure the continuity and renewal of the garden's character. On his death in 1970, he bequeathed Scotney to the National Trust, in whose ownership it remains (1997).