Chenies Manor House, Buckinghamshire

Once known as Chenies Palace, although never a royal residence, nor the seat of a Bishop, Chenies Manor House was held by the Cheney family from 1180 and passed by marriage in 1526 to the Russell family, Earls of Bedford, later Dukes of Bedford, of Woburn Abbey. Henry VIII is known to have stayed at the property on several occasions. The manor remained in the possession of the Russells until it was sold in 1954 . It is now used as a private house, although it is open to the public on certain days and also used as a wedding venue. The house includes a medieval well, a dungeon, and a reputed priest's hole.

Our visit was organised by a local garden club, of which Angie and I are members.

The gardens are beautiful - there were well-manicured lawns surrounded by beautiful flower borders, a sunken garden, a physic garden with a well house, a maze, and a vegetable garden. There is also the village church just outside the walls of the garden.