Mottisfont House and Hillier Gardens

Mottisfont House and Hillier Gardens - October 2022

October 29, 2022

Situated by the side of the River Test in Hampshire, near Romsey, is Mottisfont House. Originally a priory, founded in 1201, Mottisfont was converted into a house by Henry VIII's Lord Chamberlain William Sandys after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the late 1530s. The building was extensively altered in the 1740s for Sir Richard Mill. The property was let to various wealthy families, but in 1934 it was purchased by Gilbert Russell and his wife, Maud. They rearranged the interior and, as patrons of the arts entertained many artists and writers. Rex Whitler was commissioned to create a series of trompe-l'oeil murals in the drawing room. These imitate gothic plasterwork and are quite amazing and very clever. Standing in the middle of the room you can imagine that the walls have vaulted ceilings, but standing directly under one of the arches and looking up, you can see that in fact, the ceiling is flat as in any other room. The entire room is painted, and even the curtains are painted and look very realistic. Whisler also painted the walls in some of the other rooms, to look like marble - very realistically. although, I thought, rather cold looking. Wish I could have taken some pics of these, particularly the Whistler Room - sadly the light in the rooms was not good and no flash was allowed!

Small wheelbarrows with rakes for children to gather leaves and chestnuts

Part of the original priory

The River Test - a chalk bed river and therefore very clear. We spotted several very large trout in the river.

Shepherds hut

.After lunch we boarded the coach and went on to Hillier Gardens - probably about 4 miles away. The gardens and arboretum were established in 1953 by Sir Harold Hillier. His father had originally owned a seed and grain store in Winchester. This also sold plants and garden seeds. When they moved to the property on the present site Sir Harold corresponded with garden owners and nurserymen all over the country and overseas. The gardens contain one of the most remarkable and comprehensive collections of trees and shrubs. Many of the plants are from his own visits to Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, the USA, and Mexico.