~ Great Maytham Hall

Even eentje uit de oude doos!

Great Mayham Hall, vlakbij Rolvenden in Kent,
(England) De tuinen waren een grote inspiratiebron
voor het boek van Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924)
De Geheime tuin!

Great Maytham Hall, near Rolvenden, Kent,
England, is a Grade II* listed country house.
The gardens are famous for providing the inspiration
for The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
       
The original name of the Manor here was
Great Maytham. In 1721 James Monypenny built
a house here which he called Maytham Hall.
This was completed by his son Robert Monypenny
in 1760 but was largely burned down in 1893.
This house consisted of a main block of 2 storeys
and basement and 2 pavilions containing the laundry
and stables. These eighteenth century wings largely
survive, but the main building was rebuilt two storeys
higher by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1909-12 for the
Right Honourable H. J. Tennant, a prominent
Liberal Member of Parliament, who reverted to the
use of the original name, Great Maytham. 

De orginele naam is Great Maytham.
In 1721 heeft James Monypenny dit huis gebouwd en
heeft het Maytham Hall genaamd.
Het huis werd afgebouwd door zijn zoon
Robert Monypenny in 1760
maar het brandde voor een groot deel af in 1893.

The house and grounds fell into decline after
World War II. In 1965 Great Maytham Hall was purchased
and restored by the Mutual Households Association,
later the Country Houses Association,
a charity dedicated to saving and preserving historic
stately homes. The house was converted into fifteen
flats, with residents sharing the reception rooms,
entrance hall and drawing room; its first residents
then set about restoring the gardens and grounds.
In December 2003 the Country Houses Association
announced that it was closing down its residential
business and selling the eight Grade I and II listed
buildings it owned.

The walled garden of Great Maytham Hall provided
the inspiration for one of the most famous of all
books for children, The Secret Garden.
Its author, Frances Hodgson Burnett, 
lived at Great Maytham Hall from 1898 to 1907,
where she found the old walled garden dating
from 1721 sadly overgrown and neglected.
Aided by a robin, Burnett discovered the door hidden
amongst the ivy, and began the restoration of the
garden, which she planted with hundreds of roses.
She set up a table and chair in the gazebo, and dressed
always in a white dress and large hat, she wrote
a number of books in the peace and tranquility
of her scented secret garden.
~
Frances Hodgson Burnett, Schrijfster van
het boek”de Geheime Tuin”
woonde op Maytham Hall
van 1898 tot 1907, waar ze een oude ommuurde
tuin vond dating van 1721 helaas begroeid en verwaarloosd.
Geholpen door een roodborstje, ontdekte Burnett de
verborgen deur tussen de klimop, en begon de
restauratie van de
tuin, die ze beplante met honderden rozen.
Ze zetten een tafel en stoel in de gazebo, en
altijd gekleed in een witte jurk en een grote hoed,
schreef ze een aantal boeken in de rust
haar geurende geheime tuin.

When Lutyens rebuilt Great Maytham Hall he
retained the old walled garden as an adjunct to
the grand new brick house in the manner of
Sir Christopher Wren, but landscaped the
terraced lawns and surrounding parkland in his
signature style, in partnership with Gertrude Jekyll,
who planted his design. The gardens and grounds
were well cared for by the Tennants until the
outbreak of the Second World War, when the house
was requisitioned by the army.
As part of the "Dig for Victory" campaign,
Frances Hodgson Burnett's beautiful roses were
replaced with cabbages and leeks, and the manicured
lawns were patriotically planted with potatoes and
carrots. A jettisoned German bomb in the middle of
the former lawn did not help to improve matters,
and after the war the house stood empty for
many years, and the gardens were left to decline.

http://www.sunleyheritage.co.uk/GM_index.cfm

 
A few pictures from the movie (1994)
~
Een paar foto’s uit de film (1994)