Loseley Park

About

The joy of Loseley House is that so little has changed, for the current house is still fundamentally that built in the 16th century. True there have been minor internal alterations – and an entire wing was added in the 17th century and then lost – but to all intents the house you see now would still be familiar to its original occupants.

The story of Loseley Park begins with the purchase of the Manor of Loseley during the reign of Henry VII. As Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex the purchaser, Sir Christopher More, was a man of considerable influence and power, yet it was his son, Sir William More, also a direct ancestor of the current owner, who first began building work in earnest.

As was common, much of the stone was reclaimed from earlier buildings, in Loseley’s case from the Cistercian Abbey of Waverley ten miles away at Farnham where ruins can still be seen. That honey-coloured monastic stone was fortunate, for it lends Loseley House a peaceful, deep and mellow mood that can still be felt, particularly on summer evenings.

In the centuries that followed the fortunes of the More-Molyneux family waxed and waned. As in every ancient family, there were unfortunate marriages and political successes, times of influences and times when it seemed the family and the house might finally be parted.

Yet the link remains unbroken. The 500 year story of the More-Molyneux family and their home at Loseley Park House continues – and visitors will find it as fascinating and compelling as any in British history.

Comparable with gardens considered national treasures, the Walled Garden covers 2.5 acres and is divided into ‘rooms’ each with its own unique planting scheme and personality.

There’s the Rose garden with over one thousand bushes, the Flower Garden with its maze of pathways and hidden corners and the White Garden that contrasts spectacular, showy, blooms with lush yet subtle silver and grey foliage.

Then there is the extensive Herb Garden, the Organic Vegetable Garden with its unusual varieties and, just outside the walls, the wildflower meadow – a haven of calm and tranquillity.