Over the last 650 years Little Hall has had many and varied owners. The last residents before the property finally passed out of private hands were twin brothers named Gayer Anderson. They were distinguished army officers who bought the Great House in 1924. The range of buildings now known as Little Hall came as part of the sale. By that time the building had been divided up and tenanted.
After the restoration, which took over ten years, the twins finally sold the Great House and moved in to the newly improved house naming it the Little Hall. They also created the beautiful garden, filling it with a number of unusual plants and interesting features such as the wall sculpture made by the Colonel, the old pump by the house wall and a dovecot which was remade recently and is now back in its original position. A careful look will also find gravestones of the brothers’ Aberdeen terrier Peter, and of Zoobzie, their beloved Siamese cat.
Although we have been unable to open the house up to visitors the present garden team have continued working during this growing season. So, it was decided to experiment with opening the garden only during weekends in August. It has been open to visitors on Saturday and Sunday afternoons between 2.00 and 4.00pm. Entry has been free but donations have been encouraged.
It proved very popular and we have had at least 500 visitors over the five weeks and a good number of donations.
It has now been agreed to continue opening the garden for the weekends in September and our small team of willing volunteers will continue to welcome visitors and provide information about the history of the house and some of the planting.
The repairs to the wall in the millennium garden are now finished and there is still be plenty to see in the garden. The Anemone Japonica is blooming away and there are still some late roses and clematis showing off. Agapanthus and other late flowering perennials are also making a good show.
Entry to the garden is between 2 and 4pm on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
It is free but we are encouraging donations to help us keep Little Hall and this lovely garden open for all to enjoy.