Munstead Wood

Munstead Wood
The house from the southwest, 1921
LocationBusbridge, Surrey
Coordinates51°10′29″N 0°35′42″W / 51.17472°N 0.59500°W / 51.17472; -0.59500
OS grid referenceSU 98211 42703
Area6 ha (15 acres)
Built1896–1897
ArchitectEdwin Lutyens
Architectural style(s)Arts and Crafts style
OwnerNational Trust
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameMunstead Wood
Designated9 March 1960
Reference no.1261159
Official nameMunstead Wood
Designated1 Jun 1984
Reference no.1000156
Munstead Wood is located in Surrey
Munstead Wood
Location of Munstead Wood in Surrey
The summer garden, 2009

Munstead Wood is a Grade I listed house and garden in Munstead Heath, Busbridge, on the boundary of the town of Godalming in Surrey, England, 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of the town centre. The garden was created by garden designer Gertrude Jekyll, and became widely known through her books and prolific articles in magazines such as Country Life. The Arts and Crafts style house, in which Jekyll lived from 1897 to 1932, was designed by architect Edwin Lutyens to complement the garden.

Munstead Wood was the first in a series of influential collaborations between Lutyens and Jekyll in house and garden design. The number of these collaborations has been put at around 120;[1] other well known ones include Deanery Garden in Berkshire and Hestercombe House in Somerset.[2]

The entire original area of Jekyll's property is grade I listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. Since Jekyll's time, it has been divided into six plots with different owners.[3]

The main house, which retains the name of Munstead Wood and whose plot contains most of the original gardens, is a Grade I listed building.[4] The properties in the other plots, which are to the north and west of the main house, also include listed buildings designed by Lutyens, in the lesser two categories; these were mostly Jekyll's outbuildings.[3] In 2023, the National Trust bought Munstead Wood through a private sale.[5]

  1. ^ Brown (1990), pp. 141–144.
  2. ^ Plumptre (1994), p. 60.
  3. ^ a b Historic England. "Munstead Wood Park and Garden (1000156)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  4. ^ Historic England. "Munstead Wood (1261159)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  5. ^ "Pioneering garden designer Gertrude Jekyll's home acquired by National Trust". Gardens Illustrated. Retrieved 1 June 2023.