The House
Included in the price of entry to the house and garden is the Restoration Exhibition - a fascinating history of the many phases of development from the modest Georgian property built in 1802 to the rambling, ivy clad gothic house seen today. The timeline charts its change of use from private dwelling to hotel, and finally its recent dramatic transformation into the historic house and home of our most celebrated poet.
Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a lead at all times.
For more information visit the Farringford House page.
The Walled Garden
The evolution of the walled garden from working kitchen garden - a sheltered retreat so beloved of Tennyson - to the site of Fred Pontin’s eighteen bungalows is no less an extraordinary tale. Discover the many phases of the work undertaken, from the demolition of the bungalows to the careful planning and stocking of beds, resulting in the magnificent award-winning garden enjoyed today.
We are delighted to reopen the gardens to the public and we hope that during your time here you will enjoy learning more about Tennyson, his family, and his love of gardening and the natural world.
“Went to our withey bed, such beautiful blue hyacinths, orchises, marsh marigolds and cowslips. Wild cherry trees too with single white blossom. The park has for many days been rich with cowslips and furze in flower. The elms are a golden wreath at the foot of the down, we admired the mespilus in flower and the apple trees with their rosy buds. [Alfred] dug the bed ready for the rhodedendrons. A thrush was singing among the other birds, as he said ‘mad with joy’. At sunset the burning splendour of Blackgang Chine, and St Catherine’s, and the red bank of the primeval river contrasted with the turkis-blue of the sea (that is our view from the drawing-room) make altogether, a miracle of beauty. We are glad that Farringford is ours.”
(Emily Tennyson’s Journal, April 1856).
For more information visit the Garden page and Restoring the Walled Garden.