21. The Garden at Shute House

29 March 2023 [Regrettably for copyright reasons this video recording is not available for public viewing]

The garden of Shute House on the Wiltshire / Dorset border is one of the best known of Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe’s private commissions and regarded by many as his finest work. He worked there for almost 25 years. 

The garden is divided into a series of spaces, but water is the defining element. Fundamental to the design was the splitting of the water into two separate courses of contrasting characters, one formal and one more natural.

The garden is renowned because of its designer, but it was truly a collaboration with his clients. Michael and Anne Tree shaped the original design more than has been previously acknowledged and this talk focuses on Anne Tree’s contribution in particular. 

Dr Kate Feluś is a historian specialising in gardens and their social history. For over twenty years she has been a consultant researching and advising on the restoration of historic and C20 parks and gardens, for both public and private owners.

Her book The Secret Life of the Georgian Garden, (2016) explains how the Georgians lived in the great landscapes of Capability Brown and others, enjoying banquets, boating and amorous liaisons in the shrubberies. The Times declared it to be ‘a pioneering work and an important addition to the literature of the country house. More than that it is a thoroughly entertaining read.’

Kate is currently writing a book for Yale University Press about the remarkable women who’ve created British gardens through history and the great garden designers they joined forces with.