Heligan gardens seek memories
The Lost Gardens of Heligan are looking for the stories behind its lost years between the 19320s and 1960s


It is 22 years since the Lost Gardens of Heligan were discovered and, as part of the ongoing restoration, the team there is trying to bridge any gaps in knowledge about the property for an exhibition to be held in 2013 to celebrate 21 years of being open to the public. Heligan House was used as a convalescence hospital in the First World War and the American Army requisitioned it in the Second World War to practise for D-day landings, but it was let between the 1920s and 1960s and not much is known about the lost years.
Already, stories are coming in, of children conceived in the Jungle, strange fruits harvested and the white camellias used for Princess Alexandra's wedding bouquet, says Lorna Tremayne, who is leading the project. If you have any relevant tales, email memories@heligan.com or write to ‘Lost Memories', The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Pentewan, St Austell, Cornwall, PL26 6EN.
* Subscribe to Country Life and Pay just £29.99
* picture by Holly Kirkwood
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
-
The garden created by a forgotten genius of the 1920s, rescued from 'a sorry state of neglect to a level of quality it has not known for over 50 years'
George Dillistone’s original Arts-and-Crafts design at Knowle House, East Sussex, has been lovingly restored and updated with contemporary planting. George Plumptre tells more; photography by Clive Nichols.
-
21 of the greatest craftspeople working in Britain today, as chosen by the nation's best designers and architects
We've persuaded some of the most celebrated names from our Country Life Top 100 to name the craftspeople they have in their own personal little black books.