Heale House

Heale House
Of the historic manor houses in the valley, only Heale House opens its gates regularly to the public who can visit the delightful gardens daily throughout the year. The house is located in the middle of the Valley, the main entrance being half way between Upper and Middle Woodford. The long drive sweeps through sheep pasture and then round in front of the house to the car park and the entrance to the plant centre and gardens.
across the lawns to the South of the house - click for larger view	The style of the gardens is relaxed - a place for people to be at ease and for the plants to battle it out between themselves. Here gardening is an art not a science. The gardens principal features are its lawns and the walks along the banks of the Avon - well stocked with trout. A walled garden combines ornamental roses with vegetable plots and tunnelled avenues of apple trees. On the West side of the house, the terraces are more formal with arrangements of herbaceous plants, paved walkways and the fish ponds.
The most unusual part of the garden is to the South: the Japanese garden created by Louis Greville at the beginning of the century. Here the Avon is divided into streams which wind through an enchanted world and under the Nikko Bridge and the Japanese tea house.
the terraces on the West side- click for larger view	Sir William Green built Heale house in the latter part of the 16th century and gave it as a wedding present to his daughter on her marriage to Sir Gerald Errington in 1553. The house then passed into the hands of Lawrence Hyde of Hatch and then - again as a wedding present - to his son. Around a hundred years later, the Bowles family bought the house and it remained in the family until 1813, when it was sold to clear the debts of William Bowles. Heale changed hands twice more in the 19th century, suffered a considerable fire in 1835 and was bought in 1894 by the Hon. Louis Greville - great-uncle of the present owner.
Mr. Greville and his architect, Detmar Blow, set about rebuilding and enlarging the house using building and decorating materials that matched the original design of the house. The oak stair case, for example, came from the house demolished to make room for Admiralty Arch.
Heale's most famous place in history came in October 1651 when Charles II took refuge here for 6 nights before escaping to France via Shoreham. The King later dictated to following account to Samuel Pepys: "After having remained sometime in concealment at the house of Frank Wyndham's, I went directly to a widow gentlewoman's house, some four or five miles from Salisbury, where I came into the house just as it was almost dark with Robin Philips only, not intending at first to make myself known. But just as I alighted at the door, Mrs. Hyde knew me, though she had never seen me but once in her life, and that was with the King my father, in the army when we marched by Salisbury some years before in the time of the war; but she being a discreet woman, took no notice at the time of me, I passing only for a friend of Robin Philips, by whose advice I went thither. At supper there was with us Frederick Hyde, since a judge, and his sister-in-law, a widow, Robin Philips, myself and Dr. Henchman, since Bishop of London, whom I had appointed to meet me there." "While we were at supper, I observed Mrs. Hyde and her brother Frederick to look a little earnestly at me, which led me to believe they might know me. But I was not at all startled, it having been my purpose to let her know who I was and accordingly after supper Mrs. Hyde came to me and I discovered myself to her, who told me she had a very safe place to hide me in till we knew whether our ship were ready or no. But she said it was not safe for her to trust any person but herself or her sister and therefore advised me to take my horse next morning and make as if I quitted the house and return again about night: for she would order it so that all her servants and everybody should be out of the house but herself and her sister whose name I remember not. So Robin Philips and I took our horses and went as far as Stonehenge, and there we staid looking upon the stones for some time and returned back again to Heale (where Mrs. Hyde lived) about the hour she appointed where I went up into the hiding hole that was very convenient and safe, and staid there all alone (Robin Philips going away to Salisbury) some four or five days."