Purple Prince and Sunny Prince

Tulipa Bombastic Red

Mostly red

Peony flowered tulip Bombastic Red

Mallards on the swimming pool

Goldfinch sculpture

Wisteria on the house

Tulipa Purple Crystal

Bridge to the island

Mating dragonflies

Rhododendron hybrid

Temple on the island

Young Pretender

Camellia and sport

Reflections

From the island

Mother and Daughter

Lily flowered tulips

Fountain

Poppy seed heads

Naughty Boy - an unjustified title...

Bluebells

Rhododendron hybrid

Another shot

Parrot tulips

Skellig Boatmen

Deep dark red

Elizabethan manor house

Cordyline

Pashley Manor is a Grade-I listed timber-framed Elizabethan manor, built in 1550 and extended in 1720. The house is not usually open to the public, but it does provide a lovely backdrop for the colourful gardens.

The Anne Boleyn Connection

The history of the manor goes back to the 13th century. In 1292 Sir Edmund de Passele built a moated manor. The Passele, or Pashley, family held the manor until 1453 when it was purchased by the Bullen family of Norfolk. The Bullen family name is better known today in its alternate spelling, Boleyn. The most famous member of the Boleyn family is Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII. Anne is thought to have spent parts of her childhood at Pashley Manor, which the family used as a hunting lodge.

When Anne was executed for treason in 1536 the Boleyn family was forced to sell the manor, and it was purchased by Sir Thomas May. It was May who built the beautiful timber-framed manor house we see today. The May family added a Georgian facade in 1720, and at the same time built the kitchen garden wall.

Despite the additions, the manor house retains its 13th-century cellars and foundation walls. According to legend it also boasts a pair of ghosts, one of whom is said to be that of Anne Boleyn

Don Ottavio

From opposite sides

Anne Boleyn

For Matt

Elizabethan oak door

Enormous oak tree