Unlock your secret garden experience
Roehampton Great House originally stood on this site, built in 1625 for the Lord High Treasurer of England under Charles I. Some of the foundations are still visible in the cellar of Grove House. James Wyatt built the present house in 1792 for Sir Joshua Vanneck.
Now part of Roehampton University, the beautiful listed grounds of Grove House were first laid out in the 18th century, when Capability Brown is believed to have been consulted.
Photo: Sarah Jackson
The formal gardens, lily pond with fountain and limestone terrace were added in the 19th century, as well as the grotto (it is said, to deaden the noise from the adjacent convent!) There is also a lake, a sham bridge and a mausoleum.
The icehouse was only discovered in 1998, when exploratory work on the grotto revealed a bricked-up door.
June 5, 2014