A beautiful medieval property in the Sussex countryside
owned by the same family for 400 years. That's how many of our videos start, but this time
you're being deceived because this house was only built in 1839, then a plain regency style home.
So how did this building with centuries old charm and character,
part of which now lies in ruins end up here and in the hands of the National Trust?
It's a beautiful Sunday morning, a little bit crisp and fresh but
lovely out. We've come to Nymans in West Sussex, beautiful garden and house here and we're gonna
find out more about Ludvig Messel and his family who really put this place on the map.
Our fascinating story begins with Ludvig Messel from German Jewish heritage and a
family with a banking background. He arrived in London with his brother in the 1860s
looking to find new opportunities. Setting up a stockbrokers firm he found success and
wealth through this trade. In 1871 he married Annie cousans and they would have six children.
Having received his British citizenship in 1878, with a growing family and a successful business
Ludvig craved to cement his standing in society. What better way to do this
than buy a house in the country, somewhere to entertain and cultivate his love for gardening.
The Sussex Weald, the perfect place and Nymans the perfect house, well the 600 acres of land
with woodlands, farmland and a four-acre garden were, in any case. Ludwig quickly commissioned
his architect brother, Albert Messel to create a germanic monster of a house,
with a tower, conservatory and billiard room. This didn't go down well with the locals and with
World War One looming, suspicions were rife that Ludvig was using the tower to talk to the germans.
Ludvig removed the tower but the pressures of being german in England at this time,
his loyalties torn between the two countries he loved attributed,
so his family claimed to his death in 1915. His eldest son Leonard would inherit the house, seen
here on horseback as he was part of the fourth reserve battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment.
Due to his German heritage, he was excluded from overseas service during the war
he however proudly trained soldiers in the fourth reserve of the East Kent Regiment
for which he was awarded an OBE and became a Lieutenant Colonel.
His wife Maude flatly refused to move into Nymans unless the place was completely remodelled.
Changes agreed this time it would have a Gothic Tudor style, the facade that we see today.
It would take until 1928 to complete and received a glowing article in Country Life
stating that future generations might be deceived by the clever reproduction!
They lived happily here with their three children Linley, Oliver and Anne. In fact
Oliver became a successful theatre designer and Anne's son from her first marriage
would become Earl of Snowden when he married Princess Margaret. All was good until 1947.
A harsh snowy winter was blowing through England and at 3am on February the 17th
Leonard awoke to a room full of smoke. The house was on fire!
Everyone escaped and 80 firefighters tackled the blaze hampered by frozen water pipes
meaning water had to be taken from the pond breaking thick ice to get to it.
Alas after four and a half hours a large portion of the house was lost
along with a huge amount of personal treasure that the family had amassed.
Rebuilding from the damage would be a big undertaking at any time
but with World War II only just over and rationing and restrictions on building
materials still in place it was just not viable for the family to repair the house completely.
What was salvageable was made good and the family still used it from time to time, continuing the
upkeep of the gardens. They moved permanently to Homestead Manor just a few miles away.
When Leonard died in 1953 no one member of the family could take on the expense and upkeep so
it was bequeathed to the National Trust to look after. Maude died in 1960 and other members of
the family continued to live there, in fact, Anne who had been living in Ireland during
her second marriage to the Sixth Earl of Rosse moved back permanently in 1979 upon his death.
Descendants still have lodgings in the grounds to this day
and assist the trust as advisers to the estate.
Visiting inside the house we see it very much as Leonard and Maude kept the property.
With the 75th anniversary of the fire this year, 2022,
an exhibition is running charting the course of that fateful night sharing
documents and accounts of what happened along with fire and water damaged articles recovered.
Here we see the butler next to a pile of furniture
covered by tarpaulin just hours after the fire brigade extinguished it.
In each room lookout for luggage tags denoting that particular item
was recovered from the fire that night.
The great hall was lost so the upper servants dining room was decorated with white and blue
china and when anne moved back she would take her meals in this room.
Whilst I've been telling you about the fascinating history of the house and the Messel
family, we have seen some of the gardens in winter at Nyman's.
We mustn't forget that the gardens themselves have become extremely famous in their own right
thanks to the work that Ludvig started in the 1890s.
He was a talented and passionate gardener and as the house was remodeled with its germanic style
he also turned his attentions to the grounds.
He was a visionary producing something different for its time and yet quintessentially English,
bearing in mind his heritage. He spent a fortune on putting in rare and expensive plants
with formal and less formal areas. His use of heather was something not really seen before.
He created a pinetum which was planted with new and unusual trees, some extremely expensive not
just for display but to protect the tender garden plants from the sussex winds. The
care and attention taken in the garden would be continued by the future generations of the family
Leonard received the victoria medal of honor for services to horticulture
in 1945, seen here having survived the fire.
The disaster of 1947 should have been enough for one house and family to endure
but nothing could prepare the gardens for the great storm of 1987.
100 mile an hour winds hit the south and east of England. In one night the hurricane flattened
huge sections of forest across the regions. Some 15 million trees were lost including nearly 500
here at Nyman's, ruining the pinetum in the process. It must have been heartbreaking for
the trust gardeners to arrive and find the devastation the following morning.
Thankfully much has been restored, during the summer months with the garden in full bloom,
the roses and herbaceous plants take centre stage.
We really must come back and show this wonderful house,
its romantic ruin and delightful gardens at their best.
Well, I hope you enjoyed our walk around Nymans, it's been absolutely fantastic, couldn't have
picked a better winter's day to come and visit. It's been glorious. We've got more like this on
our channel, lots more National Trust for you to see, so please do give us a like, maybe go and
check our catalogue out, subscribe to the channel and we'll see you again next time thank you.