Nymans

About this place

The Messel family began developing the garden at Nymans in the 1890s, on a site near Handcross in the parish of Slaugham, West Sussex.

What started as a private plant collection grew into one of the most botanically significant gardens in southern England, with plants and shrubs named after the place itself.

Part of the house that stands here today is a lived-in family home; the rest is a roofless shell, left as a deliberate ruin after a fire.

The National Trust has cared for Nymans since 1953, and both house and garden are open to visitors.

History

Ludwig Messel bought the estate in 1890 and began building the garden with his head gardener. Work continued and expanded by his son Leonard Messel, whose name is still attached to several plant varieties raised here. A fire in 1947 destroyed much of the house's interior, and rather than fully rebuild, the family left part of it as a ruin standing alongside the restored rooms. Leonard Messel bequeathed the estate to the National Trust on his death in 1953.

Architecture

The house was rebuilt in the 1920s in a romantic, loosely medieval style, incorporating older stonework and features, before the 1947 fire left one wing as an open ruin. It is Grade II listed, while the surrounding grounds carry a Grade II* listing on the Register of Parks and Gardens.

Worth knowing

Anne Messel, Leonard's daughter and later Countess of Rosse, was the mother of Antony Armstrong-Jones, Lord Snowdon, the photographer who married Princess Margaret. The garden has supplied plant varieties to British horticulture over generations, several still grown under the Messel name.

Gardens & grounds

The garden is known for rare and unusual plants gathered by three generations of the Messel family, several of which are associated with the estate.

Facilities