Minterne House

What a lovely sunny day.  F and I made a visit to Minterne Gardens to look at the snowdrops.  After the storms they were on the turn but there was other colour about as the early rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolia were already beginning to flower.  Extra photographs.

The house is owned by the Digby family and was built in 1906 after having had to pull down the other dwelling due to dry rot.  The estate originally belonged to Cerne Abbey in the 10C who sold it to Winchester College and they leased it to John Churchill in 1642, ancestor of  Sir Winston Churchill, prime minister, and Diana, Princess of Wales.  Later in the 16C, Admiral Digby bought the property and it has remained in the family ever since. The younger Digbys now rent it out as a wedding  and events venue.

The gardens comprise about 27 acres of woodland paths, gushing streams and many shrubs and trees, some of them collected over a century or more ago by plant hunters.