History of the Kitchen Garden at Denbies

The idea of a culinary garden at Denbies is not a new one.  For the best part of 100 years from the 1850's, the Kitchen Garden at Denbies grew enough produce to support 400 Denbies staff and a London household.  The garden fell into neglect and disuse during the 1950's but over a three year period from 2002, the current owners have returned much of the plot back to it's former glory.  The Kitchen Garden is contained within a two acre walled site near the Denbies House. Happily today, the garden is back in full use.  These days, rather than producing food for estate, the focus has shifted to culinery herbs including rosemary, thyme, marjoram, lavender and dill as well as fruit trees and many varieties of vine. 

The Gardens at Denbies

How Does the Garden Grow!             

The gardens at Denbies have been one of the most notable features of the estate since the early 18th century.  The original farmhouse and surrounding land was transformed into a Georgian mansion with elegant gardens in the 1740's when it was used as a weekend retreat. Just over a hundred years later the Estate was skillfully developed into lavish 19th century gardens.  It was at this time that the 2 acre walled kitchen garden was added as well as an astonishing quarter of a mile of glass houses.  The gardens were able to support both the growing Denbies Estate and the owners London residence.  During this time the Estate began to develop into a self sufficient community with it's own church, schoolhouse, post office, dispensary, shop and firebrigade.                                                                             

          

Denbies Gardeners in 1860s

The Denbies Fire Brigade

 The history of the house and gardens at Denbies is a story of a community and entrepreneurial spirit.  The estate takes its name from the first recorded farmer of the land in 1555 John Denby.  Since then various owners have contributed to the Estate leaving their own imprint on the landscape for future generations. Amongst the most interesting and influencial  owners have been Jonathan Tyres and Thomas Cubitt.
From Eccentric Beginnnings...............
Jonathan Tyres owned Denbies from 1734-1767.  He was an entrepreneur and the owner of the notorious Vauxhall Gardens in London.  These pleasure gardens had a bawdy reputation as a place the well off could eat dance and be merry.  His dream was to create a landscape in direct contrast to the frivolity of Vauxhall Gardens so he embraced the theme of "melancholy" at Denbies.    Some of his more sombre additions to the gardens included a "Temple of Death" where an unseen clock chimed away each minute and a book with verses about death were chained to a desk.  He also displayed two human skulls, one a local highwayman the other a London courtesan, alongside verses warning about the folly of human vanity - not a sight for the faint hearted!  However strange these morbid additions seem to us they were considered fashionable at the time and Tyers was greatly admired for his distinguished taste.

Thomas Cubitt's Train

                                                     .........to a Flourishing Estate

By the time Thomas Cubitt and his family bought the Estate in 1850 these curiosities were long gone and the gardens had taken shape with lawns around the house.  Cubitt began working life as a carpenter but his idea of uniting the different trades within a single building company brought him many prestigious building projects.  These included the building of the front of Buckingham Palace and the removal of Marble Arch from the front of the Palace to its current position at the North end of Park Lane.  This was followed by the design and building of Osbourne House  (Isle of Wight) for Queen Victoria to which his own new mansion at Denbies beared a noticable resemblance.

At Denbies Cubitt undertook an enormous planting programme across the Estate.  To assist with the development he even constructed his own railway siding (now Dorking West) and purchased his own engine.  Tens of thousands of trees and shrubs, including many rare varieties were planted.  On the death of Thomas, Denbies passed to his son George (this was after only five years at Denbies). George continued the work at Denbies and added considerably to the Estate over his lifetime.  Over the following years George funded the building of St. Barnabus and the attached schoolhouse and in 1892 he opened the gardens to the public for viewings one day a week.  During George's time the Estate employed more than 400 staff.

The Glasshouses and Kitchen Garden of the 1850's
Possibly the most remarkable feature of the new mansion was the range of glass houses which were attached to the house and extended for an incredible quarter of a mile.  Articles published in 1867 and 1876 in the "Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener" describe the planting in detail.  They tell of walls covered in abundant flowering creepers including Bougainvillaea, Rose, Clematis and Fushsias.  They mention the extensive collection of plants as being unusual in a private residence and call them "deeply interesting and instructive."  The head gardener is lavished with praise for his impeccable displays.  Each glasshouse contained different plantings, too numerous to list fully but they included; ferns, orchid palms, cucumbers, kidney beans as well as a vast array of fruit; melons, plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, orange and lemon trees.  A substantial area was also given over to vines described as being  "in excellent fruiting condition."  The articles also mention that the houses were full of strawberries and plants ready for bedding out in the kitchen garden.  The articles provide a fascinating insight to the gardening regime of the period.

Thomas Cubitts Mansion, Glasshouses and Kitchen Garden

Fully operational by 1854  the  Denbies Kitchen Garden followed the Victorian pattern of design with separate areas for fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs.  At that time the garden would have contained produce such as artichokes, gooseberries, raspberries, red and white currents, horseradish, potatoes, broccolli, celery, cabbage, peas, beans and anything else the Estate required. 

The original glass houses were sadly demolished along with Cubitts mansion in 1953.  However the recent project of rejuvination has breathed new life into the Kitchen Garden.  This time it is hoped that the plants culivated at Denbies can be of benefit to visitors to the Estate in assisting them to create their own culinery gardens.