A damp expedition to Munstead Wood, the house which Lutyens designed for Gertrude Jekyll between 1895, following the death of her mother, and 1897, when she moved in.

The exterior of the house is extremely well preserved, as are the surroundings, including 11 acres of woodland to the south.

This is the house from the west:-

And from the south-west:-

And the internal courtyard on the north front:-

After Jekyll died in 1932, it was inherited by her nephew, Francis Jekyll, who wrote her biography.  It was sold in 1948, but was acquired in the 1960s by Sir Robert and Lady Clark who obviously looked after it well, restoring part of Jekyll’s garden, following its original planting.  Then it was acquired by the National Trust in June 2023 by private treaty sale.

Now the question is what to do in terms of public access.  It’s obviously far from straightforward as it’s approached down a rough, muddy lane.

It’s highly atmospheric – a monument to Jekyll’s very various creativity, quite apart from her contribution to the history of gardening:-