It was hot as we arrived at the Mount car park and loaded our 46 members on board the coach along with our driver Cliff. We left on time and we no sooner seemed to set off than we were there. It was a Thenford Gardens Open Day so we shared the space with 3 other coaches and members of the public. On our arrival we were given a short introduction by Rupert Heseltine on the history of the family arriving at Thenford in 1976 when he was 8 years old and what a wonderful playground it had been although the gardens had been neglected and there was no lake. Michael Heseltine had consulted gurus within the horticultural industry such as Harold Hillier and Roy Lancaster, asking the question “What the heck am I going to do with this place? Soon a plan formed and Hillier delivered a first batch of suitable plants. The lake was dug, not by hand as in ‘Capability’ Browns day but with diggers and dumpers. Over a period of time the gardens, as seen today, slowly emerged.
Thenford House in its current form was built in the Palladian style in 1760/65 by Michael Wodhull but an original house with medieval and Elizabethan roots nearer the Church was demolished soon after this was built. It was sited close to the medieval fish ponds and the site of a Roman villa.
Since our last GG visit in October 2019 they have built a new visitor centre/café/courtyard and coach park which reduces the walk up the hill to the front of the house and the lovely views across the lawns and swan sculptures towards the lake. The path continues over a small stream, past the ‘rolling horse’ and round to the long herbaceous borders which were in ‘full steam ahead’ mode with moon windows cut into the hedgeline overlooking adjacent fields. This area has access into the remodelled walled garden with its cooling fountain, box hedging unfortunately showing signs of box blight , aviary with stressed birds in need of some green shrubs or small trees and the glasshouses full of exotic plants. The Brugmansia was in full trumpet and is thought to have been extinct in the wild since the Pleistocene Age when its method of seed dispersal was by also extinct megafauna . I’m still trying to work that one out! In February when I visited for one of the Snowdrop Days, the large Strelitzia (Bird of Paradise) was in flower in the glasshouse.
Exiting the Walled Garden we walked along to the rill and its accompanying jets of water. So cooling here and amongst the trees as we sidelined into the Sculpture Garden. This is a highlight area….the kneeling elephant , a few chisels here and there immediately brought this lump of stone to life, so clever…the beautiful medieval lady/nun so precise with her pointed toes and fingers and of course, the main feature the MASSIVE 7.5 tonne bronze head of Communist leader Vladimir Lenin by Latvian sculptor Dzintra Jansone brought from a town square in Preili ,Latvia. It was decommissioned and removed following the Fall of Communism in 1991. It’s certainly a big, brutalist chunk . But what flight of fancy made a staunch Tory Cabinet Minister bring the Bolshevik leader to his garden? Unfortunately I forgot to ask him when he was parked outside the cafe with his wife in his buggy. Was it his Welsh mining roots or his connection to the Swansea Dockers Club that brought out latent rights for the working man? Or was it just his eye for a bargain investment? A reference on Wikipedia tells us ‘’it was a deliberate eccentric touch by Lord Heseltine who is known as a critic of Communism”. If you asked him please let me know.
We joined the long queue for tea and cake served by family members and ladies of the village. It was great to see the young lads of the family running around emptying bins and replenishing the water drinks table. All this could be yours one day my son! Exiting the café we encountered a very young-looking 93 year old MH with his wife in his buggy. After my six-word exchange with him we had a quick sortie to the lake before boarding the coach. Before we knew it, thanks to Cliffs’ steady, calm driving skills we were back in Princes Risborough. A lovely way to spend an afternoon. Carole Barfoot
