SUDELEY CASTLE King Ethelred owned Sudeley Castle in the ninth century and it remained in the de Sudeley family until 1469 when, following Lancaster’s defeat in the War of the Roses, Lord Sudeley was forced to sell the Castle to Edward IV. In 1547, Thomas Seymour, Lord High Admiral of England and Baron Sudeley controversially married Catherine Parr, thirty-four days after Henry VIII’s death. Edward VI, Sudeley’s nephew, gave Sudeley to Seymour the same year. Catherine died in 1548, a few days after giving birth to a daughter. Friction between Seymour and his elder brother Edward resulted in Seymour’s execution in 1549 on various charges including embezzlement, his inappropriate behaviour with Princess Elizabeth and undermining Edward’s position as Lord Protector by giving pocket money to Edward VI. In 1544, Queen Mary gave Sudeley to Thomas Boydes, who was created 1st Lord Chandos of Sudeley. Ironically, Queen Elizabeth visited the Castle as a guest, making three royal progresses here, the last to celebrate the defeat of the Armada. The Castle was damaged during the Civil War and remained semi-derelict for nearly two hundred years until the Dent brothers, glove manufacturers from Worcester, bought the estate in 1830. In 1854 they employed George Gilbert Scott to restore the Castle and Chapel and after their death the following year, the work was continued by their nephew and heir, John Coucher Dent and his wife Emma. From the Visitor Centre, café and gift shop, the path leads through the tithe barn, past the Long Pool with the entrance to the garden via the Mulberry Garden. The Moorish Knot Garden was designed by Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall for the small courtyard in 1995 and is based on three Queens: Catherine Parr, Lady Jane Grey VISIT GARDENS 07940 877568 www.visitgardens.com and Elizabeth I. It has a central fountain, mosaic ornaments and a metal pergola covered by vine; some of the roses are currently being replaced. The remains of the Banqueting Hall are an impressive backdrop for rambling roses and from here the path leads to the Queen’s Garden. Enclosed by yew hedges, it has a central fountain in an octagonal pool with formal beds planted with roses. The Dents paid W A Nesfield £57 18s in 1858 for advice but rejected the Victorian idea of creating a garden without reference to the period architecture nearby. The White Garden by St Mary’s Church is filled with scent while the Secret Garden was created in 1979 to celebrate the present owners’ wedding anniversary. It was originally planted by Rosemary Verey but the current planting scheme is by Sir Roddy Llewellyn. Walking through the Rare Breeds Pheasantry, the path leads past the ‘Moat’. This was widened by Emma Dent and was likely to have been originally a series of fish ponds. There follows a series of ‘Tudor’ gardens: the physic garden, the herb garden and the ‘Scented Garden’ which has a topiary woman sitting on a bench reading a book. The children’s playground is accessed by a magnificent wooden drawbridge with a willow maze nearby. VISIT GARDENS 07940 877568 www.visitgardens.com .