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Snapping the Sixties Basildon Park en vogue Goat round-up Head to nationaltrust.org.uk/ – page 2 – page 3 – page 4 buckinghamshire (or substitute your own county name) for the highlights in your region

From bright blooms to mellow views

Behind every sunshine-hot September day hovers a wistful apprehension that this may be the last of the year. All the more reason to make the most of every single golden moment of late summer.

Our places are a visual feast of vibrant Into autumn colour at this time of year. Dahlias have As the seasonal colour wheel turns, the had a big comeback in the last few years bright, rich flowers of late summer start and make a big impact at Hinton Ampner to fade in the planted beds just as the (Hampshire) with thousands of blooms autumn colour flushes through in the in shades of pretty pastels to hot sunset shrubs and trees. colours. The Vyne (Hampshire) also has eye-catching dahlias in its walled garden, Making the most of the mellow fruitfulness as does Mottistone (Isle of Wight). of the season with harvest events are Hughenden and Cliveden. Their autumn The parterres at Waddesdon, Hughenden celebrations with workshops, apple tastings, and Cliveden (Buckinghamshire) remain countryside crafts and gardeners top tips bold and bright all the way through to run throughout October until the end of September and it’s a wonderful time to half term. Greys Court (Oxfordshire) is catch the last of the colour and drink in the celebrating the traditions of the WI during views whilst the gardens are quieter. the harvest period with apple tasting, gardener talks and jam making. At Mottisfont (Hampshire), there are two deep flower beds bordering the historic Mottisfont has a whole harvest month central pathway in the walled gardens from 21 Sep – 3 Nov in celebration of its brimming with agapanthus, Japanese impressive new kitchen garden. It has anenomes, rudbeckia and autumn crocus. cloister-esque pergolas wound with Some of the repeat-flowering roses will hanging gourds, raised beds and continue to bloom into early autumn. a central water feature.

Autumn outings Heritage Open Days Guided walks Autumn menus Visiteering Bring along your non-member friends for Walking with an expert guide opens up Kitchen gardens come into their own in late Visiteering is a great opportunity to do free entry when we celebrate Heritage whole worlds that you might not otherwise summer. At Mottistone, the re-designed your bit and make a difference without Open Days on selected days in September. notice. The rangers at Hughenden are organic kitchen garden supplies the tea- the commitment of a full volunteering Visitors to Stowe (Buckinghamshire) can holding foraging, fungi and treescape walks, garden menu with fresh produce. And role. Claydon (Buckinghamshire) has take a peek in the Gothic Temple, not usually whilst at Ashridge Estate (Hertfordshire) make sure you catch Mottisfont’s roasted bookable opportunities to join the house open to the public. Sandham Memorial there are guided autumn colour and deer rut beetroot houmous with rocket and herb conservation team. At Hughenden and Chapel (Hampshire) has a pop-up vintage tea walks of varying lengths. Stowe’s autumn flatbread before the gardeners’ beetroot Stowe visitors can help plant thousands of room alongside some of Stanley Spencer’s rambles season includes a mindfulness walk supply runs out. Greys Court uses leaves, bulbs for a colourful spring and at Cliveden original sketches which aren’t normally on guided by a digital app (see overleaf) and squashes and apples from the kitchen you can help with the autumn bedding show. Winchester City Mill (Hampshire) on the Isle of Wight there’s a wide range garden in its tea room and at harvest time, changeover. And children can pitch in too has historical interpreters, live choral music of birdwatching and wildlife walks led by volunteers make jam from the soft fruit in – at The Vyne and Hughenden there’ll be and a baking demo, whilst Basildon Park knowledgeable experts. Lady Brunner’s kitchen. mini wheelbarrows for little ones to rake the (Berkshire) has Festival of Light celebrations leaves to make compost. including a rangoli, Indian food and curator talks. Check the website for dates.

More details about autumn events on property websites London Snapping the Sixties news Mottisfont’s new exhibition perfectly movement - celebrities in their own right captures the unique glamour and style of the who helped shaped the future of fashion Sixties, with a showcase of portraits by some photography as a genre. Mottisfont’s of the decade’s most famous photographers. exhibition reveals some of the very best of their work. Far more than just celebrity There are more than fifty photographs to portraits, these artistic and evocative Head to Ham House this September enjoy by Patrick Lichfield, Brian Duffy and photographs have helped define an era. and discover a riverside estate awash Terence Donovan, evoking the spirit of with autumnal delights. Inside the house the period with famous faces and flawless Alongside the photographic exhibition, you’ll learn about the seasonal treats fashion sense. Mostly black-and-white, Mottisfont is also hosting a show of enjoyed by the Duke and Duchess, the featured subjects include models painted portraits from its own permanent while in the Kitchen Garden there’s a and musicians, film stars and politicians. 20th century art collection in one room feast of fruit and vegetables for you try You’ll find Twiggy wearing an outfit by of the gallery. in the Orangery Café or take home in a Mary Quant, George Best leaning against a Ham-grown bag. goalpost, and Paul McCartney and George Snapping the Sixties: Lichfield, Duffy and Martin at a recording session in a London Donovan, 21 September – 10 November studio. Fashion shoots for leading lifestyle magazines such as Vogue and Elle show off the era’s iconic styles.

Lichfield, Duffy and Donovan were all incredibly influential photographers who each helped to define the vibrant Sixties photographic scene in their own ways, capturing the fashionable stars and high society of ‘Swinging London’. While documenting the post-war exuberance of the era they became central to the cultural

Autumn also sees the arrival of apple days at our places across the capital. You can choose to sink your teeth into local Merton variety apples at Morden Hall 125 years Park, while away an afternoon at William Morris’ Red House in Bexleyheath, or relax in the ancient orchard at Fenton House in Hampstead. of The Vyne

It’s the Trust’s 125th anniversary in 2020, and this intimate display looks back at the last 125 years of The Vyne. Find out Under the how the estate survived through the turbulence of two World Wars, with memorabilia from members of the family. On display are Sir Charles Chute’s Great War medals and personal at Stowe photographs, alongside the touching homemade banner to Hawthorn celebrate his return from the horrors of the Front in 1918. ‘Under the Hawthorn’ explores the theme of the 18th century Once home from the First World War, Sir Charles immersed pastoral idyll and its relevance today in a smart, funny himself in helping others. Paying tribute to his compassion, this and mindful way. With experiential walks, talks and public show explores his philanthropic work in Hampshire, overhauling workshops in collaboration with poet and performer, Dan the agricultural industry to prevent wartime starvation, Simpson, the programme seeks to provide escapism from the establishing the Home Guard in the 1940s, and working stresses of modern life through engaging with the landscape tirelessly to support local charities and hospitals. A winter exhibition at Osterley Park at Stowe. and House will tell the story of banking The eclectic mix of exhibits also includes schoolboy mementos family, the Childs, and how they worked There are different levels of involvement. The simplest is to from the occupation of the house by Tormore School for boys, follow a tour through the pastoral idyll of Stowe’s Grecian their way to fame and fortune during evacuated from Kent in 1940. You’ll uncover some of the boys’ Valley, absorbing its history and immersing yourself in its Britain’s financial revolution. The small memories too, including the story of an infamous graffiti job on stories through poetry, historic imagery and gentle prompts but detailed exhibition will look at some a marble bust of the Queen of Scots. You can still see the results to notice and engage with the surroundings. of the works of art and design the family of this today if you pop into the Tudor oak gallery. surrounded themselves with. If early trials are successful, Stowe will also offer a multi- Hampshire’s Leading Citizen, media app, downloadable from the café, to take the A highlight of the exhibition will be 28 October 2019 – 7 September 2020. interaction a step further. The app uses GPS trigger points Carlo Dolci’s sublime painting of the in the landscape which prompt spoken word or visual early Christian martyr, Saint Agatha – notifications on your phone, and tasks to take part in with newly acquired by the National Trust for different ways to interact. Osterley with the generous help of the Art Fund. Over three nights in October, a talks series sees a Q&A panel session with the team responsible for the restoration of the Grecian valley, a contemporary and highly engaging spoken word evening with Dan Simpson, and a lecture in the State Music Room at Stowe House with the National Trust’s Gardens and Parks Historian, Richard Wheeler.

Under the Hawthorn runs from 16 September – 3 November 10am-4pm as part of Stowe’s Autumn Rambles series. Basildon Park en vogue Basildon Park is hosting an exhibition of the ownership of Lord and Lady Iliffe who designer couture clothing from the London entertained guests such as Grace Kelly and Museum of Fashion and Textiles. Day and artist Graham Sutherland. evening wear pieces by Dior, Valentino and Chanel are displayed against the backdrop Renee, Lady Iliffe, at nearly 6ft tall with of the mansion’s sumptuous interiors. model proportions and flaming red hair, was featured in Vogue magazine in 1966. The specially curated exhibition is inspired The couture pieces on display reflect the For more information on the above and by the famous weekend parties of Basildon style of her heyday. other news from London head to Park in the 1950s and 60s. This period saw nationaltrust.org.uk/london the renaissance of Basildon Park as a house Basildon Park en vogue runs of glamorous weekend entertaining under from 16 August to 18 November. Bake… Mottisfont’s toffee apple cake Serves 12-16 slices

Ingredients 250g caster sugar 250g softened butter 250g self-raising flour Working Woods 5 eggs 10g baking powder 10g cinnamon Woodlands ‘often need a bit of help’ to remain healthy says Head of Forestry Ray Hawes in the 1tsp vanilla essence National Trust magazine. But what does this mean in practice? Nymans’ Lead Ranger Chloe For the toffee apple jam Bradbrooke explains how and why she feels honoured to give nature a helping hand. 500g apples 50g butter I love working in woodlands. It makes me activities of man. We have been cultivating 100g maple syrup feel alive and at home. It feels like a privilege trees for our use since Neolithic times. This 150g caster sugar and a great responsibility - they have existed activity has resulted in woodlands rich in for millennia and although resilient, can also diverse species of trees of different ages. For the icing be delicate. They’re not just a collection Our woods have ponds created by mining 150g butter of trees; the ancient soils, plantlife and stone and clay, sweet chestnut coppice for 300g icing sugar fungal communities are rich habitats for charcoal, trees for timber, hazel coppice for 1tsp vanilla essence wildlife. They filter the air, soak up water fencing and open rides which allow access Pinch of salt to prevent flooding and provide places for to the woods, but also create wonderful recreation and therapy. They exist on a corridors for butterflies, birds and other Method different timescale so can be slow to adapt wildlife to travel through. • Cream the softened butter and to change, making them vulnerable in these sugar together until light and fast-moving times. My favourite jobs are those which mean fluffy. I’m in the woods either very early in • Add the eggs little by little On the other hand, our woodlands are the morning or into the evening such ensuring the mix doesn’t split. so diverse because of, not in spite of the as charcoal burning or wildlife surveys. • Add the flour and dry It’s a very special place at these times of day; peaceful, beautiful, and everything ingredients and mix on a becomes more subtly alive – it’s a treat. more light. If paths are spread and widened medium speed until fully even slightly, these areas can become combined. Other jobs include maintaining good compacted, destroying the wildflower • Divide the mixture between two tracks, steps and bridges to allow people to edges. 30cm cake tins and bake at 170 enjoy the woodland safely without causing for 20-25 minutes or until well damage. In well-used woodlands, people Visiting a woodland is great for both body risen, evenly coloured and firm can unwittingly have a big impact. There and soul. An autumn woodland glowing to the touch. can be disturbance of nesting birds, wildlife with colour and rich with the smell of • Allow the sponges to cool in the chased, dog mess and litter, removal of damp earth is a wonderful, uplifting place tins before removing. wood or plants and compaction of the soils to be and I encourage you to experience • For the jam, peel and chop the if people walk off the paths. Wildflowers it. We can all play our part in ensuring they grow along the sides of paths as there is continue to thrive. apples into 2cm chunks. Melt the butter and maple into a pan on a medium heat without A brief guide to woodland works: Coppicing Scrub clearing stirring until the mixture Coppicing is an ancient management Maintaining wide rides and glades forms a light smooth caramel. Thinning technique in which selected trees are cut creates a mosaic of vegetation structure Add the apples and raise the Thinning is the selective removal of trees close to the ground. They grow back with lots and habitats necessary for butterflies, temperature to soften the to allow the remaining ones more light and of stems which, at Nymans, we use for bean dragonflies, birds and bats to thrive. In apples. Once at the consistency space to grow and develop into healthy poles, supports for the summer borders or order to these keep areas open, scrub may of jam, remove from the heat trees. It also allows the understory to plant labels for sale in the shop. The stems be cleared. and allow to cool before use. develop and encourages a wide age range are cut on a rotational basis so are truly • For the icing, combine all the of trees. sustainable. Woodland products ingredients and whip until light Most National Trust ranger teams make and fluffy. To assemble, place Halo-releasing Equally important is what coppicing does good use of the timber produced from a layer of the toffee apple jam This is done around ancient/veteran trees for nature. After the trees are cut, ground conservation activities to champion between the two sponges. that may have become ‘shaded out’ by vegetation and wild flowers flourish in the sustainable practices. At Hughenden, a Cover the sides and the top of later-arriving trees. This can cause dying light, benefiting insects and butterflies. volunteer team creates bird boxes and the cake with the butter cream back of branches and the tree to decline. Later, as the underwood grows, it supports other products which are sold in the shop icing then using a palette knife, different nesting birds and mammals such as to help fund our work, whilst offcuts are Cutting back the competitors and creating ripple in some of the toffee dormice. When the coppice is re-cut years milled to fuel a biomass boiler. At Cliveden, an open ‘halo’ around the veteran allows apple jam. the light to reach them. later, the cycle begins again. volunteers make charcoal.

If you’re looking for a traditional Christmas winter revelry. The Vyne, Basildon Park need to get outdoors at this time of year. Christmas preview in a lovingly decorated country house, and Greys Court are all running Christmas You can embrace the frost-kissed gardens look no further than Hughenden Manor, candlelit house tours as the early dusk draws at Stowe on a winter walk to find the 12 The Vyne and Greys Court. With lavishly in with festive refreshments along the way. days of Christmas across the landscape. wrapped presents, brightly coloured Each installation is created with an artist garlands and the evocative scent of There are themed Christmases in or partner and will finish with a final pine trees and spices, you can get your Hampshire. Mottisfont’s ‘An Enchanted flourish in the Temple of Concord and traditional Christmas fix here. For a more Christmas with the Flower Fairies’ has an Victory. For children, there are outdoor opulent display, Basildon Park will be enchanted woodland theme whilst Hinton Christmas trails at most of our places. dripping with lights, floral displays and Ampner has decorations inspired by decadent decoration. Aesop’s Fables. The house’s former owner You can expect wreath workshops, Ralph Dutton treasured a beautiful book of fantastic Christmas shopping Candle-lit houses are a big feature this year. Aesop’s moral tales which will be on display. opportunities, carol singers, festive food Ham House will be glowing with flickering and a very warm welcome wherever you candles that lead you through a flurry of Nor is Christmas confined to houses, we all go in our region this Christmas. [Above] – The Holly Fairy (from Flower Fairies of the Winter, 1926) © The Estate of Cicely Mary Barker. Reproduced by kind permission of Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd. What your support Conservation in action means to us ‘This time of year always takes me New vistas back to childhood memories of the start of a new school term. Summer’s at Cliveden and Cookham end meant conker season, bonfires and the school harvest festival - Visitors to Cliveden are enjoying breathtaking vistas down to the raiding mum’s cupboards for food river Thames that have been hidden from view for decades. The donations in the tradition of giving ranger team has been working hard to restore the viewpoints that thanks for the harvest nature had were once part of the historic designed landscape and which over provided. the years had become overgrown. One visitor said of the view from Canning’s Oak, ‘It’s so exquisite, it looks unreal, like a painting.’ ‘Later in my life I’m very proud to be part of an organisation that supports Upstream at Winter Hill viewpoint, part of Maidenhead and nature to thrive. The great outdoors Cookham Commons, rangers are working on a similar project to doesn’t stay great on its own and our restore the important historic view over the Thames Valley. Locals Goat round-up remember rolling down Winter Hill as children in the 1950s, but teams work in harmony with wildlife, responding to its timetable. Our when grazing ceased after the war, secondary woodland gradually countryside teams are now carrying on the Isle of Wight obscured the view. out all the conservation work put on hold over the summer when birds Each autumn on the Isle of Wight’s Ventnor Downs, a troop of The thinning works this autumn at Winter Hill will restore valuable were nesting. staff and volunteers scramble through thorny brambles and chalk grassland habitat as well as allowing many more people - scratchy gorse to round up the herd of Old English feral goats particularly those with mobility issues - to enjoy the Thames Valley ‘Both outside and in, our places are that live here. It’s an important task in our countryside calendar view from the car park at the top. now a-flutter with activity. We’ve an and allows the team to give the herd their annual health check. array of experiences across London and the South East this autumn to The goats help to control the growth of scrub on this steep stir your senses, evoke old memories stretch of downland overlooking the sea, keeping at bay the and create new ones. All made invasive holm oaks that would otherwise rapidly smother the possible because of your support, so flower-rich chalk grassland. Once all the elusive goats and their as ever, thank you so much!’ new kids have been found, we count them, give their teeth a check and clip their hooves, before releasing them back into the Nicola Briggs, Regional Director wild to continue the good work.

This year’s goat round-up is on 17 October. If you’d like to book a place call 01983 Meet like-minded 741020 for more details. members If you like making the most of your National Trust membership and enjoy some company on your outings, why not join your local Supporter Group? These are groups of Trust members who live near you and get together for talks, walks, outings, day trips and even holidays. The Vyne wallpaper Wherever you live, there’s a group within reach, waiting to give you a warm The Vyne’s new fundraising project has strawberry fruit design was located in the welcome. seen staff peering behind radiators and servants’ quarters. climbing into wardrobes, on the hunt for Search ‘supporter groups LSE’ on the precious scraps of historic wallpaper. The Together with the National Trust’s wallpaper National Trust website or phone Viv £20,000 campaign aims to create a more specialist Andrew Bush, the house team Tobitt, Supporter Groups authentic context for The Vyne’s collection, selected two designs, and these have been Co-ordinator on 01932 339496. and this includes reproducing early 19th- painstakingly recreated using a traditional century wallpaper designs for two of the hand-printing process. This autumn you’ll bedrooms. Surviving samples that have see the new wallpapers in-situ, and find out been uncovered reveal the Chute family’s more about the project to return them to love of floral patterns - a bright blue flower The Vyne. If you get your timing right, you paper was found on the back of a bookcase may even see the wallpapers being installed - in the Little Tapestry Room, and a pretty check the website for updates. Return of Apollo and the nine Muses Apollo and the nine Muses was one of the and the nine Muses is an intriguing project Of the original group, only one of the Muses, most significant statue groups to grace the requiring complex archival and archaeological Calliope, still resides at Stowe. Two others landscape garden at Stowe. Symbolising research to recreate the iconic set. are in the collection at Anglesey Abbey. A inspiration and artistic creation, they were catalogue entry from 1848 reports that the commissioned in the early eighteenth rest were melted down. century to layer meaning into the landscape. These lead statues adorned the gardens for In order to create a harmonious set of nine 100 years and were focal points within three different statues of appropriate quality and areas of significant garden design at Stowe. form, new moulds will be created using the original three statues as a guide, and the new The National Trust has been restoring Stowe Muses created from composite stone. At the since acquiring the gardens 30 years ago. The time of writing, an appropriate model for latest phase involves re-introducing statuary Apollo remains elusive. and other lost features. The return of Apollo

Regional Director Nicola Briggs Editor Katy Dunn For a large print version, please call us on 0344 800 1895 Contributors Chloe Bradbrooke, Jo Crosse, Claire Shuter, or email [email protected] Chris Tutt Design Suvarna Designs Photography © National Trust Images / Andrew Bush, Andrew Butler, Ray Dale, Chuck Eccleston, Jennifer Green, Print Walstead, Bicester Matthew Hollow, John Millar, John Miller, Robert Morris, Hugh Mothersole, William Shaw, Mark Wigmore, Sophie Wilkinson; Printed on 100% recycled paper, Lichfield / Lichfield Studios Ltd; Claudio Costantino, Jammy Custard;The Holly Fairy (from Flower Fairies of the Winter, 1926) please recycle after use. © The Estate of Cicely Mary Barker. Reproduced by kind permission of Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd.