A fairytale garden surrounding a 16th-century hunting lodge
A view of the double row of clipped topiary pieces in the yew garden from the top floor of the hunting lodge. Planted by her grandfather in the Twenties, the yew was shaped into these forms by Amanda’s father Basil in the Thirties and early Forties.Steeped in history and intrigue, Beckley Park is an extraordinary place. Only a few miles from Oxford, it feels as if it is in the middle of nowhere, stranded at the end of a long track on the edge of the ancient wetland landscape of Otmoor. Often shrouded in mist, the tall, narrow house – a 16th-century former hunting lodge – rises up from what is essentially an island in the middle of three concentric moats, its three towers, cobbled medieval bridge and mullioned windows giving it the look of a fairy-tale castle.
Originally a Saxon stronghold, built by King Alfred as a fortification against the Danes, it was first recorded as a deer park in 1175. In the 13th century, it became a Royal hunting lodge given to the Earl of Cornwall, brother of Henry III. The park and its manor later fell into decline until the 16th century when it was acquired by Sir John Williams, later Lord Williams of Thame, who built the current house around 1530. Occupied by tenant farmers in the 17th and 18th centuries, it escaped modernisation in that period and, as a result, remains largely as it was when it was built almost 500 years ago.
Today, Beckley is owned by Amanda Feilding, Countess of Wemyss and March, whose grandparents Percy and Clotilde Feilding bought the property in 1919 ‘for the romance of the place’. A colourful, bohemian couple who entertained friends such as William and Henry James and Aldous Huxley, Percy and Clotilde were both architects. Clotilde, a Cambridge-educated mathematician, was one of the first women to practise architecture internationally, beginning her career as an apprentice to the architect and landscape architect Reginald Blomfield, where Percy also trained. Known for his formal garden style, Blomfield had famously dismissed his contemporary William Robinson’s treatise The Wild Garden, favouring a much more structural approach, and his influence can be seen in the topiary garden Percy laid out at Beckley Park, a series of hedged rooms shoehorned into the confined space between the back of the house and the first moat. Having previously been a hunting lodge and farm dwelling, it had not had a garden before, so its design could be plucked out of the imagination.
The youngest of four children, Amanda grew up here and describes a childhood very much rooted in the place, running free round the gardens and letting her mind run wild. ‘As a child, the countryside and garden were a part of me,’ she says. ‘When my siblings went to boarding school, I was here on my own and experienced fantasy adventures. It was a strange, isolated world and its grip was strong. The house was very much a Sleeping Beauty castle, with everything overgrown except the topiary – even that was a jungle threatening to take over at any minute.’ Amanda’s richly imaginative girlhood was a formative influence: she went on to study art and mysticism, travelled widely and has, for the past 50 years, devoted her life to psychedelic science. Under the auspices of the Beckley Foundation, she has pioneered critical scientific research into the medicinal properties of psychoactive compounds to help neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, as well as addiction and mental illnesses such as depression. She also investigates how careful use of the psychedelics can enhance creativity, mindfulness and the mystical experience.
It is easy to see how the seeds for this adventure-driven life were sown here at Beckley. From the moment you step over the threshold, past the gypsy caravan and through a door framed by two wooden Buddhas into the inner sanctum, the gardens draw you into another world, inviting exploration and appealing to your inner child. Intriguing framed views stop you in your tracks and make you veer off in different directions across stepping stones or mossy wooden bridges, or along cobbled paths coloured with the patina of age.
It all has a rather Alice in Wonderland feel – especially the narrow yew garden. Here the topiary figures are still clipped into the quirky shapes dreamed up by Amanda’s grandfather in the Twenties – though now they are a little taller and wider, dwarfing visitors as they walk through. From here, a narrow opening in the hedge leads into the rose garden – a box par-terre with multiple pyramids cut into the low hedges. Echoing the points of the gables on the three towers, these jagged forms are a recurring theme in the garden, radiating out in diagonals from the house and reflected inky black in the moats. Planted lose to the walls of the house, the topiary hedges give a sense that the building is growing up organically from the vegetation.
After playing hide-and-seek among the labyrinthine topiary, the wider garden beckons. A long, grassy walk between moats culminates in a pair of iron gates, which Amanda remembers her father transporting to the house on the top of his Austin 7. At the opposite end of this moat-lined walk, viewed through a veil of autumnal leaves, is a larger body of glittering water – a small lake created by Amanda in the past 12 years. Designed according to the proportions of sacred geometry, it has a small island in the middle with a temple-like structure and stepping stones made from magnificent stone plinths. The spoil from the lake was used to make a viewing mound at the far side, offering a different perspective of the house and the topiary garden. But the real purpose of this mound is more spiritual: a Buddhist stupa or burial mound in memory of her beloved pigeon Birdie, who lived with her, always free, at Beckley for 15 years.
This garden has a strong presence, almost a persona, which Amanda, who is now in her seventies, has nurtured throughout her life. She has, she says, a symbiotic relationship with it, ‘I’ve always felt that Beckley is part of my soul. I know every sound, every creak, every note of birdsong. I have a spiritual connection with this place and the garden is very much a part of that. It nourishes and embraces me’.
Richard Bloom1/7The gardens are shoehorned into the island space between several moats. In the topiary area, dozens of dramatic box pyramids contrast with the wide, curving hedges that divide the space.
Richard Bloom2/7The distinctive building dates back to around 1530, when it was built as a hunting lodge for Sir John Williams, and remains virtually unaltered since that time
Richard Bloom3/7The jagged forms of multiple pyramids cut into the box hedges are a recurring theme throughout the garden.
Richard Bloom4/7Glorious autumnal foliage of ancient trees on the banks is reflected in the inky black moats.
Richard Bloom5/7The small lake is a recent addition, with stepping stones made from Robert Adam plinths found in the woods at Gosford House in Scotland, leading to an island designed as a temple with eight stone columns.
Richard Bloom6/7A long, grassy walk between the moats culminates in wrought-iron gates acquired by Amanda’s father and brought back on top of his Austin 7.
Richard Bloom7/7Amanda bought the romantic painted wooden gypsy caravan for her children, and her grandchildren now enjoy playing in it.
