Coming up this time, we explore the grounds of a property made famous by it's
popular socialite owners, known for their wild parties, scandal and honeymooning
Kings and Queen's. FInd out all you need to know about visiting this incredible
Edwardian home. Stay with us!
Polesden Lacy is an Edwardian house and estate in the Surrey Hills, England.
Managed by the National Trust, it's one of its most popular properties, open from
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Check the website for the latest pricing information.
dogs on leads allowed in most outdoor areas
There is a gift shop and toilets as you enter the estate and the
granary cafe is in the courtyard
A small garden shop offers plants and ornaments for those interested in buying
something grown on the estate. You're probably best to check this out after
you've had a walk around save you carrying anything.
it's about a 10-minute
walk to the house walking in between lines of trees and areas that you can
have a picnic on if you brought one.
On the horizon you start to glimpse the views of the North Downs as you
approach the grand entrance to the house.
Dame Margaret Greville was the last owner of Poleseden Lacy. A popular
socialite at the turn of the 20th century,
she used the estate as a weekend getaway to host lavish parties for royalty,
politicians and celebrities. She was the talk of the town and regularly featured
on the front cover of magazines and newspapers. Maggie as she liked to be
known was born an illegitimate child of a Scottish boarding housekeeper, Helen
Anderson. Mr. Anderson was a porter at the local brewery. When he died Helen got
married to William McEwan millionaire owner of the brewery and Margaret's
actual father. Moving with her parents from Edinburgh to London at 21, in just
six short years she married Captain Ronald Greville or Ronnie as he liked to
be known. This elevated her status and allowed her to socialise at the top table of
society, the creme de la creme of which was the Prince of Wales, shortly to
become King Edward the seventh. Living in Mayfair the Greville's rented Reigate
Priory not too far from here for their weekend soirees. However Maggie wanted
better scenery and more control over the events so, in 1906 with the help of her
father William they brought Polesden Lacey. The couple commissioned architects
Mews and Davies famous for remodeling the Ritz Hotel in London, to entirely
renovate the house. Sadly Ronnie died in April 1908 of cancer,
a year before renovations were completed. Unfortunately today we cannot
show you inside as it's closed due to the COVID pandemic, but we can still
enjoy the grounds and we'll be back to update this video once the location is
fully open again so be sure to subscribe for updates!
In 1908 Maggie moved full-time to Polesden Lacey, guests would come from all over the
world to Maggie's wild parties, sipping cocktails and shooting pheasants in the
grounds. The most notable event was that of the
future King George the 7th and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother spending the
first part of their 1923 honeymoon on the estate. Arriving on the evening of
their wedding day at Bookham station from London Waterloo, to huge crowds lining
the streets to Polesden Lacey. The couple spent a week at the estate
and then traveled on to Glamis castle in Scotland .Margaret passed away at the
Dorchester Hotel on the 15th to September 1942 leaving Polesden Lacy to
the National Trust and for us all to enjoy.
The estate grounds are extensive and offers much more than we can show you in
this video. The double hibiscus borders hug the rose gardens outer walls and
with views over Ranmore common as you walk down the gravel path make it pretty
spectacular. It was in full bloom when we visited in June. You can expect the
display to run well into autumn.
Every day in the summer and on weekends in winter you can join a garden tour
guide around the various garden rooms. Check out the what's on board for times
as you enter the property.
The trust is currently running a one-way system around the gardens for social
distancing reasons, so follow the fork on chalkboards for directions.
As you cross the thatched bridge you pass what's left of the old kitchen
garden before arriving in the winter garden. As you would expect it's at its
best between November and March designed by Graham Stuart Thomas the walks out to
this area in summer are flanked either side by the lush green trees.
From the urn a walking trail takes you down the hill on an interesting path
with views of Ranmore and over a bridge to a rockery.
Normally you can head back to the gardens from here but today we had to
backtrack via the Winter Garden.
The cutflower garden provides blooms to the house and other visitor areas
throughout the year. The garden cottage is available for self catering hire, check
out the National Trust holidays website for details. This area also has the
vegetable garden that provides some produce for the granary cafe from
potatoes to beans.
This young orchard has a few varieties of apples, a bug and bee home and a
chicken roost, but we couldn't see any of them I think maybe they were resting!
The cold frames have some of the herbs grown by the gardening team also for the cafe.
The Edwardian walled rose garden has well over two thousand roses, including
rambling roses that climb over the pagodas .These were planted in the early
20th century. The area is in full bloom from late May through to August.
In 2017 the trust commissioned a new rose to commemorate Margaret Greville
Passing through the gate you enter the Ladies garden, the final resting place of
Maggie Greville. This area was her favorite place to sit during her time here.
Maggie never had any children but filled that void with many dogs over the
years. As we reach the last part of the garden tour, under a shady tree the many
graves of her faithful companions rest. As I mentioned earlier there is much
more to do at Polesden Lacey. You could try one of the walking trails. They have
four different walks across the estate ranging from one and a half miles to
four miles. For more information about each route pick up a walking leaflet at the
visitor's reception or check out the links that we've put in our video description.
We hope you've enjoyed our guide? Let us know in the comments.
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Until the next time happy travels from the memoryseekers!