Early 20th century Warley Place Historic Garden, Brentwood (EHER 16277)

Wild gardens to Warley Place, a 17th century house which was demolished in 1939. The present gardens were developed between the 1890s and 1935 by Ellen Willmott but the earlier gardening history is uncertain. However, it has been suggested that Humphry Repton worked here but there is no known evidence to support this. After Willmott's death the gardens were neglected and plundered. A programme of restoration of the gardens has taken place since 1977.

Remains of early 20th century 'wild garden' now included in the Register of Parks and Gardens (EH). Warley Place was built the 17th century, remodelled and extended over the years and then demolished in 1939. Possible involvement of Humphry Repton in 1806 as the South Lodge, 1/4 km SSW of Warley Place is attributed to him. From 1890s until WWI the estate was enlarged and intensively developed as a 'wild' or 'natural' garden by Ellen Willmott. After WWI the gardens were neglected and became derelict when the house was demolished. In 1977 6 1/2 ha were leased by the Essex Naturalists Trust and have been partly cleared. <1> Ellen Willmott also funded (over a series of Birthdays) the construction of a cave and gorge. The work was carried out by James Backhouse and son of York during the early 1880s. It is a feature 12.5m long by up to 5.7m and 2m deep. The walls and path are lined with coarse sandstone and there are three rock arches and four steel girders which supported 1/2 inch glass. There is a concrete channel which was probably to drain water running off the roof. The west end of the cave was blocked by a large wooden gate. The cave is in a poor state of repair. <2> Barking Abbey built a sanatorium or hospital for nuns suffering from marsh-fever (the Abbey itself was situated in a marsh), sited 3.5 kilometres to the north of the church/hall complex on the hill where Warley Place is now sited (Harper 1956). This was described as a brick-built building in 1400. A number of medieval fish-ponds (the South Pond) where located here, these were fed by natural springs. Following the Dissolution the site of the Abbey Sanatorium had a succession of owners, beginning with the Gonson family, the Ashenhurst family, the famous diarist John Evelyn who owned Warley Place from 1649-5 and the Wynn family. In 1806 Humphrey Repton was consulted about the re-landscaping of the grounds, but the extent of his work is not known although it is suspected that the South Lodge (which is a picturesque whitewashed thatched cottage) maybe his handiwork. In 1875 it was purchased by the Willmott family and the re-modelling of the house and particularly the garden began, at its height 140 people were employed on the estate and the gardens under Miss Ellen Willmott were world-famous. Particular features included the Alpine garden, the Filmy Fern cave (an artificial grotto), sunken hot houses, water gardens, a walled garden and acres of naturalized spring bulbs. However Miss Willmott’s expenditure on Warley Place and her other properties proved ruinous, and her dwindling income, the consequent reduction of staff and the requisitioning of Warley Place by the military during the First World War, led to an inevitable decline in Warley Place. She died in 1934 with only her butler remaining of her staff. After her death the gardens were neglected and the house was demolished following World War Two bomb-damage. The Essex Wildlife Trust has leased the grounds since 1977 and it now forms an overgrown nature reserve. The grounds are a Registered Historic Park and Garden and a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation and a Conservation Area. <3> <4> NRHE data transfer: Wild gardens at Warley Place, a 17th century house which was demolished in 1939. The early gardening history is not certain but it is known that Humphry Repton was consulted in 1806. The extent of his work is not known. Between the 1890s until the first World War the grounds were developed as a wild garden, but were in neglect from 1918. Part of the gardens were restored in 1977. <5> Gardens to Warley Place covering an area of 11 hectares. The gardens were developed between the 1890s and 1935 by Ellen Willmott. Earlier gardening history of the grounds is uncertain, it has been suggested that Humphry Repton worked here but there is no known evidence to support this. After Willmott's death the gardens were neglected and plundered. Since 1977 the gardens have been conserved. <6>