An Elizabethan manor house set in a 1,400-acre estate near Guildford in
Loseley Park is an Elizabethan manor house set in a 1,400-acre estate near Guildford in Surrey, owned continuously by the More-Molyneux family since it was built in the 1560s. The walled garden — occupying some 2.5 acres within the estate — was restored in the 1990s and is now one of the finest of its kind in Surrey, divided into a series of formal rooms each with a distinct character and planting scheme.
The rose garden is the centrepiece, planted with over 1,000 roses arranged by colour in a series of beds that progress from white through soft pink to deep crimson. In June, the fragrance is extraordinary, and the combination of old rose varieties with more recent introductions ensures a long season of flower. Beyond the rose garden lie a white flower garden, a vegetable and cutting garden of great orderliness, and a moat walk planted for summer interest.
Loseley is less well-known than some of the great gardens of Surrey — a circumstance that makes a visit all the more pleasurable. The crowds that gather at Wisley or Hampton Court are absent here, and the combination of fine Elizabethan architecture, well-managed farmland and immaculate walled garden offers a composed and unhurried experience that is quintessentially English.