About Steane Park Gardens
Steane Park was once the home of Sir Thomas Crewe, speaker of the House of Commons in the 17th century, who rebuilt the charming chapel of St Peter in 1620 in memory of his wife.
The house that stands now is much smaller than the original, a property of magnificent architecture that was originally built and designed by Sir Reginald Bray who was involved in the building of Henry VII’s Chapel at Westminster Abbey. Sir Reginald’s daughter, Temperance, married Sir Thomas Crewe. Through the lineage Steane was passed to Henry Duke of Kent and thence to the Spencer family who sold it off privately in 1890.
When we moved to Steane Park in 1990, the garden was in an extremely dilapidated and overgrown state; the lake had been filled with rubbish and the fishponds were hardly visible. Over the past 21 years we have tried to capture the original glory of the garden, and the fishponds have been enhanced by the addition of a jetty with an attractive seating area. During the clearance the top of a little well was found at the back of the church. However there is some debate as to whether it is a well, or an entrance to an icehouse, or even the start of a passageway, which the locals believe went from the monastery up to the nunnery at Halse. The area between the fishponds is where the previous owner had grown potatoes and this is now planted with trees and wild flowers, whilst the potatoes are now grown in the newly renovated 17th century vegetable garden.
Now the garden houses many unique and fascinating features, including:
‘The Monet Bridge’ – built by a craftsman from Suffolk. It was delivered in several pieces and constructed on-site with the aid of a lot of ropes, a lot of getting wet and a lot of crossed fingers, but the end result looks magnificent!
‘The Moon Gate’ – taken from a design by Mary Reynolds at the Chelsea Flower Show 2001.
‘The Folly’ – built by us, lies on the mound, which is presumed to be the site of the old mill in the Domesday Book.
Open Days
Open Days 2012
Next Open Day
Sunday 24 June 2012
Private Group Visits
Group visits are available for 10 or more by appointment, please contact us.
