 Much of Scotney's charm derives from the
romantic buildings found in the grounds. The steep slopes of a bluff overlooking the
River Bewel, richly planted with trees and shrubs, provide a beautiful backdrop to the
picturesque ruined castle rising from the lake-like moat on the valley floor. A fortified house was built here between 1378 - 80 by Roger
Ashburnham.
He wished to protect this strategic
site on his property where the road from Hastings and Rye
crossed the River Bewel. All that remains of this 14th
century building is the massive round south tower, with its
projecting parapet at roof level, and a ruined gatehouse.
Attached to this is a brick Elizabethan range which incorporated
some of the original castle. The jagged walls and gapping
windows beyond mark the remains of a substantial 17th century
wing.
The Darrell family, who had owned Scotney since 1411, sold
the property at auction in 1774 to Thomas Hussey. In 1835 his great-grandson, Edward
Hussey III, commissioned the architect Anthony Salvin to design a neo-Tudor house on the
bluff overlooking the moated ruins.
The house was built between 1837 - 1844 and at the same
time William Sawrey Gilpin, the artist and landscape gardener, was engaged to advise on
the creation of the 20 acre garden. Gilpin was influenced by the Picturesque style
which rejected the carefully manicured landscapes of the 'Capability' Brown school and
favoured 'natural landscaping' which gave the illusion of nature untamed.
The steep slopes, genuine medieval ruin and deep quarry,
left where the stone for the new house had been extracted, offered considerable potential
for landscaping. The castle was pulled down even further to make it look more
picturesque.
Below the new house a semicircular bastion provides a
spectacular view down from the stone parapet over the quarry and slopes of the valley,
planted with a huge variety of trees and shrubs, to the moated ruins of the old
castle. In the valley there is rich but restrained planting of shrubs and old roses,
rushes, bamboos and marsh plants. These are dominated by immense limes, tulip trees
and cut-leaf beech.
Beyond the river the park rises gently
to beech and oak woodlands. A walk along the top path
from the house provides many changing vistas and prospectives
and glimpses of the 17th century tower of Goudhurst church.
The surrounding estate also provides delightful country walks.
Scotney is magnificent in April when the Japanese maples
are in leaf and magnolias bloom in the old quarry. In early summer the azaleas and
rhododendrons, descending to the lily-filled moat, are a blaze of colour. Later in
the summer the old walls of the castle are surrounded by pink, white, and mauve roses and
the formal herb garden created around an Italianate wellhead carries the scent of many
aromatic plants. The garden is also greatly renowned for its autumn colour.
Successive generations of the Hussey family lavished care
and affection on Scotney in the 19th and 20th centuries. The only modern feature
found in the garden today is a sculpture by Henry Moore known as the 'Reclining Figure'.
This can be found in a secluded spot on a little isthmus in the lake and is a
tribute to the memory of Christopher Hussey. He greatly enhanced the beauty of
Scotney and gave one of England's most romantic gardens to the National Trust.
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Scotney
Castle Garden
