Packwood House

The house began as a modest timber-framed farmhouse constructed for John Fetherston between 1556 and 1560. The last member of the Fetherston family died in 1876.{{harvtxt|Gateway Gardens Trust|2007|p=9}} In 1904 the house was purchased by Birmingham industrialist Alfred Ash.{{harvtxt|TourUK|2009}} It was inherited by Graham Baron Ash (Baron in this case being a name not a title) in 1925, who spent the following two decades creating a house of Tudor character. He purchased an extensive collection of 16th- and 17th-century furniture, some obtained from nearby Baddesley Clinton. The great barn of the farm was converted into a Tudor-style hall with sprung floor for dancing, and was connected to the main house by the addition of a Long Gallery in 1931.{{harvtxt|Staveley|2009}}

In 1941, Ash donated the house and gardens to the National Trust in memory of his parents but continued to live in the house until 1947 when he moved to Wingfield Castle.{{harvtxt|Allesley and Coundon Wedge Conservation Society|2009|p=1}}

The famous Yew Garden containing over 100 trees was laid out in the mid-17th century by John Fetherston, the lawyer. The clipped yews are supposed to represent "The Sermon on the Mount". Twelve great yews are known as the "Apostles" and the four big specimens in the middle are 'The Evangelists'. A tight spiral path lined with box hedges climbs a hummock named "The Mount". The single yew that crowns the summit is known as "The Master". The smaller yew trees are called "The Multitude" and were planted in the 19th century to replace an orchard.

{{Wide image|PackwoodHouse.JPG|900px||Panoramic view of Packwood House}}

The Yew Garden is entered by raised steps and a wrought-iron gate. The garden path follows an avenue of trees, which leads up a spiral hill where a wooden seat is placed beneath a yew tree. This vantage point provides views of the house and the Yew Garden.

Some of the yews at Packwood are taller than {{convert|50|ft|m}}.{{harvtxt|Blagg|2010}} The soil on the estate has a high level of clay, which is detrimental to the trees during wet periods. As a result, parts of the garden are often closed to the public while restoration work is undertaken The house and gardens are open to the public throughout the whole year as of 2013.[http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-packwoodhouse Packwood House, National Trust] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015164700/http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-packwoodhouse |date=2011-10-15 }}

File:PM packwood1.jpg|The stable block

File:PM Packwood2.JPG|The view from the garden

File:Packwood Yew Garden 2019.jpg|Yew Garden from the path to the Mount

File:PM topiary.JPG|Yew trees looking south towards Sermon on the Mount

File:PM topiary150.JPG|View of the house and yew trees from The Mount

File:PackwoodHouseLongGallery.JPG|The Great Hall

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{citation|author=Allesley and Coundon Wedge Conservation Society|title=Baron Ash and Packwood House|year=2009|publisher=Gateway Gardens Trust|place=Allesley, West Midlands|url=http://www.acwcs.org.uk/Nov%202009.doc|accessdate=2 September 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903071333/http://www.acwcs.org.uk/Nov%202009.doc|archivedate=3 September 2011}}
• {{citation|last1=Blagg|first1=Anthony|title=Packwood House|year=2010|publisher=Topiary in the United Kingdom|place=Worcestershire|url=http://www.topiaryintheuk.co.uk/Packwood.htm|accessdate=2 September 2010}}
• {{citation|author=Gateway Gardens Trust|title=Gardens in Warwickshire|year=2007|publisher=Gateway Gardens Trust|place=Pwllheli, Gwynedd|url=http://www.gatewaygardenstrust.org/fe/fileupload_getfile.asp?filePathPrefix=769&fileLanguage=e.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726074046/http://www.gatewaygardenstrust.org/fe/fileupload_getfile.asp?filePathPrefix=769&fileLanguage=e.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 July 2011|accessdate=2 September 2010}}
• {{citation|author=National Trust|title=2010 Handbook|year=2010|publisher=National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|place=Swindon, Wiltshire|isbn=978-0-7078-0410-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/nationaltrusthan00}}
• {{citation|last1=Staveley|first1=Andy|title=Packwood House|year=2009|publisher=BirminghamUK|place=Birmingham, West Midlands|url=http://www.birminghamuk.com/packwood.htm|accessdate=2 September 2010}}
• {{citation|author=TourUK|title=Packwood House|year=2009|publisher=Just Tour Limited|place=Bideford, Devon|url=http://www.touruk.co.uk/houses/housewarw_pack.htm|accessdate=2 September 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013094812/http://www.touruk.co.uk/houses/housewarw_pack.htm|archivedate=13 October 2016}}

{{Refend}}

{{Commons category|Packwood House}}

• [https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/packwood-house Packwood House, National Trust]

• [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=57057 A History of the County of Warwick, Volume 5 (1949) from British History Online]
• [https://www.theguardian.com/weekend/story/0,,2168488,00.html Andy Sturgeon, The Late Summer Border at Packwood House, The Guardian, September 15 2007]

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Category:National Trust properties in Warwickshire

Category:Grade I listed buildings in Warwickshire

Category:Tudor England

Category:Historic house museums in Warwickshire

Category:Gardens in Warwickshire