Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
EASTON PROMISE
Meet the lady of the manor who fulfilled her pledge to turn the overgrown gardens at Easton Hall into a paradise again
When the future US President Franklin D Roosevelt visited Easton Hall in Lincolnshire in the early 1900s, he described it as ‘almost too good to be true’. Yet by the 1950s the magnificent house, parts of which dated back to medieval times, had disappeared and the garden was reduced to a mass of overgrown trees, brambles and rubble.
Like many stately homes, Easton was brought down by a combination of circumstances. Ursula Cholmeley (pronounced ‘Chumley’), whose husband’s family have been there since the 16th century, explains. ‘During the First World War it was used as a hospital, like Downton Abbey. During the Second World War it was home to units of the 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment. They were brave lads, but extremely wild, and by the end of the war the house was a shell of its former self.’ The lead was stolen from the roof and in 1951, faced with crippling taxes, the family decided to demolish the house. The few parts that survive, such as the gatehouse, did so because the bulldozer broke down.
Today, though, Easton has recaptured much of the spirit that enchanted Roosevelt. Although the house has vanished, the 12-acre garden is once again a magical place, thanks to Ursula’s enthusiasm. When she and her husband Sir Fred Cholmeley moved to a farmhouse on the Easton estate in 1993, the 400-year-old garden had been in freefall for over 50 years. When Ursula suggested restoring it in 2000, her husband told her it was a ridiculous idea. ‘When I broached it again a year later, Fred said, “Oh, all right, get a tractor in and see what you can do.”’
Ursula, 45, had two small children – Monty, now 19, and Bella, 17 – and little gardening experience, but she was convinced the garden could be brought back to life. She was inspired by the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall and Alnwick Castle in Northumberland. However, she says, ‘They were wellfunded, whereas I had no budget, no gear and no idea of how to do it.’
Work began in the winter of 2001. ‘For the first two or three years it was just tractors and a few friends helping me. There were tree stumps everywhere,’ says Ursula. With the arrival in 2003 of head gardener Stephen Marsland, who is still there today, the replanting began.
Where she could, Ursula followed the layout of the original garden. Today Eas- ton is famous for its snowdrops, which appear from late January until mid-March and are followed by a memorable display of spring bulbs. In summer the highlights are the wildflower banks, the white garden, the cottage garden, the rose meadow and a beautifully planted 80m (260ft) mixed border. Ursula is passionate about sweet peas, which seem to enjoy the cold Lincolnshire winters, and she now grows over 100 varieties.
Fifteen years since the restoration started, Easton now attracts 17,500 visitors a year and Ursula feels the gar- den that she imagined has finally emerged, although she insists there is still a great deal more to do. ‘If I’m away from Easton for too long, I get twitchy,’ she admits. ‘It’s an all- consuming project, and I’ve had times when I’ve wondered what on earth I got myself into, but I’ve never regretted a single hour spent on this garden.’
Easton Walled Gardens are open until 30 October, Wednesday-Friday, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays from 11am4pm; adult entry £7. visiteaston.co.uk.