Nymans

Nymans is an estate in the Sussex Weald which has been created by three generations of the Messel family. When Ludwig Messel bought the Regency house in 1890, it came with a 600 acre estate. He began creating the garden five years later, appointing James Comber as his Head Gardener. They worked well together, creating several different gardens within the estate, including a Pinetum, a Heather Garden, a Rock Garden, a Wall Garden; bringing exotic plants from around the world that thrived in the micro-climate. Leonard succeeded his father in 1915, continuing the work his father started. The Top Garden was added and Leonard travelled to the Hymalayas and South America, collecting rare specimens to grow in his estate.

Leonard did not like the Regency house, and in the 20s he commissioned a mock medieval manor to be built in its place. He and his wife Maud brought up three children there; Linley, Anne and Oliver.

Then came the Second World War and hot houses could not be heated, and staff went to help the war effort, leaving only a bare minimum to run the place. But the real disaster came in the form of a fire, which virtually destroyed Leonard and Maud's house in 1947. But the garden survived and the house was partially rebuilt. Leonard passed away in 1953 and left the estate to the National Trust. Anne, now Countess of Rosse lived there with her husband and she oversaw the Garden as Garden Director until 1987; she died in 1992. Her rooms, the Messel Family Rooms, are open to the public and NT present them as the family used them in the early 20th century. 1987 brought the destruction of the hurricane to the garden, severely damaging the pinetum and other areas of the garden.

The garden has a romantic atmosphere with its ruins as well as the imaginative layout created by its founder. There are 'rooms' within the garden and far reaching views across the Weald. There are collections of rare plants as well as a 275 acre woodland where visitors can walk to lake and along the conifer avenue.

We visited in July and enjoyed the gardens as well as the few rooms open to the public in the house. The rock garden is being reconstructed after it became overgrown and will be magnificent when ready. Definitely worth revisiting in years to come.