1. Front Lawn

The stone garden was first created in the 1920s. Local lads - who were known as Bowles Boys - collected the round stones that decorate the bed. They loaded them on to wheelbarrows at nearby Maiden’s Brook, and trundled them back here.

A limestone column was placed here to add height and a bit of sculptural variety to the bed. To compliment the column, Bowles had the fossilised Araucaria,or Monkey Puzzle tree positioned beside it. The tree is ancient. It dates from the Cretaceous Period – around 250 million years ago. It is believed it was discovered in the early nineteen hundreds, when they were excavating the King George V Reservoir. Whatever its origins, it is certainly the oldest tree in the garden.

The carved stone water trough came from an old blacksmith’s forge in Forty Hill. For many years it served as the block riders used to dismount when they came to have their horses’ hooves shod. Bowles brought the trough here in the 1930s, after his brother, Sir Henry, closed the forge down.

The stone garden suffered badly during the great storm of 1987.