Saturday 16 April 2016

Warley Place: Miss Willmott's Ghost and Nature Among the Ruins



I don't suppose Ellen Willmott, the famous horticulturist who lived in Warley Place in Essex from 1875 until her death in 1934, would be less than horrified at the appearance of her former home. The large country house that she knew is in ruins and only the shell of the conservatory still stands. Ivy climbs over the rubble of her home and wild flowers push through the bricks.  And her greenhouses and cold frames, the centre of her gardening activities, are now down to their foundations - crumbling outlines of what they once were.


I thought about Miss Willmott coming forward in time when I visited Warley Place last week and imagined the sight of her wandering around today. I think she would be horrified - but perhaps only at first, because all the buildings have gone and her neat gardens are overrun (apparently she would sack a gardener if she spotted a weed.) But I hope after her first inspection she'd realise that so much of what she created still flourished - like her acres of daffodils - and that her old estate is managed well by volunteers who have simply let it become a place of wild, natural beauty. Warley Place is now a nature reserve, owned by the Essex Wildlife Trust.

Brimstone on Bluebell
Spring is a great time to visit Warley Place. In fact, it's really worth visiting several times over the season, first of all to see the drifts of snowdrops and then the stunning carpets of daffodils. When I visited, these were starting to fade (which looked sort of appropriate here where there is a sense of gentle decay). But the daffs are being replaced by a fresh blue, as the bluebells, forget-me-nots and pulmonaria are now in flower. Along the paths, the wild garlic is coming out with its pungent smell. I also think it'll be worth visiting again in a few weeks because there are masses of self-sown foxgloves. I saw the clumps of leaves all around the ruins and I think these will look glorious in early summer.


Ellen Willmott brought in flowers from abroad and is thought to have cultivated over 100,000 different species of trees, plants and shrubs. More than 60 plants have been named after her and Warley Place, including Eryngium giganteum (Miss Willmott's Ghost)  - a large sea-holly.  She received many accolades for her plants and was one of the first recipients of the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour in 1897.

Ellen and her sister Rose taking tea under the Walnut Tree c1900
There are some interesting trees here too such as 'Umbellularia californica' (known as the headache tree, because crushing the leaves creates a headache) and the turkey oak, which has a parasitic growth on its branch known as a witch's broom.  Probably the most impressive trees of all are the old, gnarled sweet chestnuts.  In 1649 John Evelyn the Diarist purchased the manor of Warley Magna - of which Warley Place is a part. The story goes that he was thought to have planted these sweet chestnuts, although it seems that only one of the present trees actually dates back that far.


The sweet chestnuts are lovely trees and while I was looking at them I noticed that the birds love them, too.  I had to smile at this blue tit, which was completely ignoring the purpose built nest box for the hole around the corner in the trunk.


Ellen Willmott created lots of interesting features at Warley Place, such as an Alpine gorge (with stone brought down from Yorkshire)...


There are three ha-has here - deep banks and ditches established to keep the livestock away from the gardens (apparently the name ha-ha comes from the reaction of someone who suddenly stumbles across the vertical drop - although I can't imagine you'd laugh very much if you tripped into the ditch...)

Miss Willmott inherited a walled garden at Warley Place (which was probably established in the early 1600s) but much of what is here today is the result of her planting...


There is a history here, of course, that predates Ellen Willmott and John Evelyn. The old carriage drive to the house was once part of a main road and, in the Middle Ages, this road was once part of the pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Walsingham.


The Warley Place estate was part of land owned by Barking Abbey, which was later dissolved by Henry VIII.  The king then gave this land in Warley to his naval minister, William Gonson.

There are North and South ponds here. This pond, the South Pond, once supplied water to the local village...


At this time of year, it's full of marsh marigolds.  A bird hide has also been set up on one side.

Ellen Willmott was well known in her time; she received visits from royalty at Warley Place. But she became increasingly eccentric towards the end of her life; she apparently booby trapped her estate for protection and wandered around with a revolver in her handbag. She also spent extravagantly throughout her life on her search for plants and seeds and eventually lost her money, so that many of her possessions had to be sold. This all seems very sad for a woman who had such a vast knowledge, expertise and talent in horticulture.

Purple toothwort - a parasitic plant dependent on other plants to survive.
Still, Warley Place has been protected (although I think it's strange that it hasn't been protected by the RHS but by Essex Wildlife Trust). Wandering around, I saw robins, wrens, blue tits, great tits and other birds starting to nest there last week and the reserve was full of bird song. But even if Warley Place as a wild and natural site wouldn't have appealed to Ellen Willmott, I have to admit that, if I were her, I'd be delighted that my former home was now a protected nature reserve, cared for by volunteers, with so much wildlife making a home there.




33 comments:

  1. Those trees remind me of Tolkien's Ents in the Hobbits, they look for all the world as if they could march towards you if necessary.
    A lovely capture of the bluetit creating his nest in the tree hole whilst ignoring the luxury model - I can't help thinking that Miss Willmott would be charmed should she return.

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    1. I think you're right about the trees. They do look like something out of an enchantment and they have such character with their gnarled trunks.
      There were so many interesting trees on the reserve. As well as the exotic ones, there were some lovely native varieties.

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  2. I think it all looks rather lovely. Perhaps if she had gardened today she would have taken a different view, with the emphasis tending to be more towards the naturalistic. It must be a nice place to wander.

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    1. Yes, I imagine she could well have been that kind of gardener today. In many ways she must have been quite modern in her thinking (she had a sort of 'career' as a respected horticulturist for a start). I was thinking more about her coming forward in time, but born in our era, I think she would have done things differently.

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  3. What a wonderful place, have enjoyed looking round with you, part of me would like to see it how it was and the other half loves it now. Stunning photos.
    Amanda xx

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    1. I agree with you - I'd love to have seen it in Ellen Willmott's day, too. I know the volunteers who manage the reserve do their best to keep a sense of how it would have been then. But I do really love the sight of nature flourishing here.

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  4. I agree with Jessica above, her ideas would have changed over the years and if she was a thoroughly modern lady today, she would be delighted that the wildlife Trust is looking after her garden, even though in a totally different way. It looks a charming place to visit, the wildlife must be very happy there.

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    1. I do think she would have had a modern approach. It is fascinating to imagine what sort of role or job she would be doing today. I'm sure she'd be pleased that her estate had been saved as it has been under threat since her death e.g. from development. It could very well have been lost under houses. Instead it's become a peaceful place for nature to thrive.

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  5. Thanks for the photos, it looks really gorgeous.

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    1. Hello Emily. Hope all is well with you. Congratulations! xx

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  6. What a wonderful post and a wonderful place too. It looks magical and rather lovely as it is even if perhaps Miss Wilmott would perhaps disapprove, but like your other commenters I think she would be enchanted. Isn't it interesting how people's ideas and expectations change over the years? I like the idea of the blue tit preferring a home of character rather than a little box:)

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    1. Thanks Rosie. It is interesting how people's ideas and expectations change - I imagine an 18th century Ellen Willmott would have had a very formal garden. She certainly loved her garden features. As well as the Alpine gorge, she created a large boating lake (which has since been drained) and of course there are all her greenhouses and cold frames.

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  7. A super post Wendy with some great photos. It looks a magical and fascinating place to visit. Thanks for all the history details - really loved reading about it all. Even if Miss Wilmott wouldn't have approved the place does have real charm and is no doubt excellent for wildlife. Good to see it surviving in its own way rather than being developed on or something else horrendous.

    Look forward to seeing more if you make return visits.

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    1. There is some great history here, both from Ellen Willmott's time and before. And wildlife is everywhere - as well as the birds making nests around the ruins, there are two hides to watch the birds come to feeders and of course the cultivated and wild flowers attract lots of insects. I hope I have the time to visit again soon, I'm sure there'll be plenty more interesting wildflowers to see. Thanks Caroline.

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  8. I have always admired Miss Willmott's Ghost, but knew nothing about its history or about Warley Place, so thank you for the introduction. I shall be sure to visit.

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    1. I hope you can visit there, Marianne. I'm sure it looks lovely all year but spring and early summer seems to be the best time. I think I'll try to see the foxgloves and then I'd like to go back and see the snowdrops.

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  9. Very interesting and the current gardens do look like a wonderful place for all forms of nature and wildlife. However as you say I am not quite sure what Miss Wilmott would make of it :-)

    The spring flowers look wonderful and the toothwort is a fascinating looking plant, though that old Sweet Chestnut is simply superb. Unfortunately Sweet Chestnut is rare up here but I always enjoy seeing them when I visit Norfolk from time to time :-)

    Hope you have a great week and my kindest regards to all :-)

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  10. It is interesting that you don't have so much Sweet Chestnut where you are, as it's a very common tree around me here. It's fascinating when you think that Britain is relatively small.
    I'm not sure how widespread purple toothwort is around here. I find it interesting that it lives completely on the roots of another plant and so doesn't need leaves for photosynthesis. I was glad to learn that it doesn't kill its host!
    Have a great week too.

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  11. I have never heard of Warley Place before it looks a magical place. It does seem strange that it has been taken over by the Wildlife Trust rather than the RHS. It makes a change leaving an old garden to nature, I could never get my Eryngium giganteum to seed. What a shame that she ended up in povety. Sarah x

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    1. Warley Place certainly does have a magic and romance about it. I wonder why the RHS didn't want to have it as a showcase for Ellen Willmott and the plants she cultivated. I wonder how different it would have looked if they had it rather than Essex Wildlife Trust.

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  12. Hello Wendy, I'm really happy you visited my blog and so I found yours. This is a fascinating post of Willmott, a worthy contemporary of Jekyll. I'll be back to read it with more attention. Here it's 9 pm and I hear a blackbird singing outside. Love them, must dash! :)

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    1. Hello Sara. Thanks for visiting! The blackbird's song is one of my favourites - it's lovely that you're listening to it.

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    2. Hello Sara. Thanks for visiting! The blackbird's song is one of my favourites - it's lovely that you're listening to it.

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  13. What a fascinating place with such a rich history. How sad she spent all her money, I bet she enjoyed the process though. What a marvelous sweet chestnut, and what a fab pic of that blue tit, If I were a small bird I would opt for the hole too! I really would enjoy visiting this haven. How interesting that purpletoothwart looks, I haven't seen that before.xxx

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    1. It seems that she spent her money travelling and collecting all sorts of specimens from around the world. Quite something for a woman in the late Victorian/Edwardian age. She must have had colourful life during those years - but obviously it couldn't last forever and she clearly wasn't making the money to cover it.
      I'd never come seen purple toothwort before either but apparently it's spreading across the UK having been introduced here. I'll look out for it again!

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  14. Thanks for bobbing by my blog and your lovely comment. Warley Place sounds very interesting.Its great that so many of her plants and trees survived and flourished despite the decay of her home.

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    1. Hello Shazza and thanks for visiting! Warley Place is certainly managed to keep the sense of Ellen Willmott alive, even though the house is in ruins. Her plants are everywhere, so I'm sure she would really appreciate that.

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  15. What an enjoyable and enlightening post. I have never visited Warley Place, but I will try to get there within the next couple of weeks after reading this post. I love the blue tit ignoring the nesting box.

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    1. That's great about your possible visit - I do think that now is a good time. The bluebells and wild garlic will be out along the paths and of course it will look a lot greener there now (than when I was there a couple of weeks ago)
      I wonder if the hole in the trunk is the favourite nest site every year - and the nest box is never used!

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  16. What a magical place! It's really fascinating to learn about the lady behind the name of the plant Miss Willmott's Ghost, which is, like many people, the only thing I know about her! I loved the photo of the blue tit, and the moorhen. :-) A wonderful post, thanks for sharing.

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    1. I'll look out now for the other plants named after Miss Willmott and Warley Place. When I looked at the ruin of her greenhouses I did think of what they must have been like full of her cultivated plants.
      The pond with the moorhen was lovely and peaceful - I imagine it must have looked very different when it provided water for the village and local people would have always been going to and from it.

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  17. Those tree trunks are quite spectacular. I much prefer informal to formal gardens, but then that is probably more to do with laziness on my part ;) x

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    1. I love informal gardens; they're better for wildlife and seeing more birds, bees, butterflies etc just adds so much more to a garden.

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