A secret garden uncovered - Ken and Doris Rees
This article by Lincoln Shaw published in the Herald Express in July 1995 and reproduced here shares the story of how Ken and Doris Rees first uncovered the garden in the early 1990s and what they discovered….
A SECRET garden - lost beneath a jungle of trees and undergrowth for over 50 years - is gradually being uncovered on the site of an ancient South Devon manor house.
It has been a nine year labour of love for retired company director Ken Rees and his wife Doris who live in what was once the stable block at Great Ambrook manor, near Ipplepen.
Yard by yard, they have uncovered the six-acre Italian garden laid down by the squire of the manor in 1908 but abandoned to nature when the Second World War began.
As the 8ft high jungle was gradually cut down they found:
stone paths, made from intricately shaped slabs, perfectly preserved by the leaf mould that had lain on top for half a century;
Roman-style stone columns;
a magnificent seat made of pink marble from the once-famous Ipplepen quarry just down the road;
a staircase, flanked by stone lions, leading from a tennis court up to a terraced rose garden;
a large stone-encased pond full of aquatic life including rare crested newts;
a square stone swimming pool;
miniature castellated cottage once used by children as a playhouse;
an irrigation system designed to fill reservoirs in various parts of the garden and also provide water for the Manor House.
Jim Mortimore who helped Ken and Doris Rees with the initial clearing of the garden in the 1990s
The garden was the inspiration of a wealthy landowner called Graham who had lived in Italy and took Italian ideas to Great Ambrook when he added a Victorian extension to the house in 1908. He employed a large team of gardeners but now the work of uncovering the restoration is being done by just two people, with help from a few friends.
Retired shepherd Jim Mortimore, who used to work on the manor farm, has done a lot of the clearing work and friends Paul and Margaret Kemp have made one of the paths their own particular task. “They come up and work on Sunday afternoons and have done a magnificent job,” says Mrs Rees. “But they still have about 160 yards to go!”
Mr Rees calculates that about 500 yards of paths have been uncovered with fresh surprises all the way.
The most delightful was the discovery of the tiny two-storey house on the broad terrace overlooking the whole garden with evidence of children’s occupation still inside.
“It was the most beautiful place when we first saw it,” recalls Doris. “It was a jungle of bramble and cotoneaster, higher than your head, and also hundreds and hundreds of snowdrops.
“We had no idea what to expect and you can imagine how we felt when we discovered this little house, with a pagoda shaped roof, oak windows and marble-style floors with the remains of dolls house furniture inside. “Even a little stove.”
The walled garden also contains many magnificent trees including Western Red Cedars, Monterey Cypress, a “Cucumber Tree” (Magnolia acuminata), a rare Willow Podocarp, introduced to Britain from Chile in 1853, Chusan Palms and several Ginkgo bilobas.
More than 40 trees were blown down during the great gales of a few years ago but Ken says it was a blessing in disguise. “It brought in a lot of light and also birdsong into an area that was previously strangely quiet.”
Mr and Mrs Rees have no intention of turning their garden into a public showpiece although villagers had a glimpse of it recently when it was opened for a day in aid of parish church funds.
In an overgrown hollow they have also come upon cut stone slabs that are almost certainly the remains of the original 14th century manor house. But they have no intention of investigating further. “The more we extend the garden, the larger the burden of maintenance,” says Ken. “It already takes several hours a day just to keep the paths and the borders tidy and there is a limit to what two people can do. “But working here is a pleasure. It is like having our own little corner of paradise.”
Ken Rees by the tennis pavilion - 1995