Feeringbury Manor Gardens
Tucked away on Feering Road, just south of Coggeshall, are Feeringbury Manor Gardens. They are open every Thursday and Friday in April, May, June, July and September, and we visited them a few weeks ago in the middle of summer. It’s on an ancient site, with the land being owned by William the Conqueror, and parts of the house dating back to 1500, and sits on the Blackwater, close to the ruins of Coggeshall Abbey.
The garden has been rescued and restored over a period of more than 30 years, by owners Mr & Mrs. Giles Coode-Adams, and their gardeners. He’s a past President of the RHS, so clearly has to practice what he preaches!
The gardens, all 10 acres of them, slope down to the river, and there is one large pond at the top level, filtering down to the river. It’s a delight to explore the garden, as different parts spring into view. As you see from the pictures below, you can see damsel fly flitting over the river, water tinkling down mill wheels, and a variety of formal and less formal planting. There’s an arboretum, and also some wrough-iron gates, trellises and other sculptures by Ben Coode-Adams, whose barn conversion (you see it behind some trees) featured on Grand Designs a couple of years ago.
They say a picture is worht a thousand words, so here are some pix, and you can see these and more, in higher resolution on Flickr. And more about the gardens on the NGS site.
