Description
William and Marianne Cartwright-Hignett are the passionate owners and managers of Iford Manor, a delightful honey-stone Cotswold manor house on the Wiltshire-Somerset border near Bradford on Avon. The gardens were principally designed by Harold Peto in the early 20th Century, but the history of Iford extends back far further.
Elizabeth Cartwright-Hignett bought Iford in 1965 from Harold Peto’s nephew, with the intention of restoring the gardens, a project given great impetus by her husband John who has dedicated the last 40 years to their restoration. Today, through a fresh approach to sustainable management of the whole Iford Estate, and working with Head Gardener Troy Scott, William and Marianne hope to set the garden on a sustainable footing and to secure a long future for this special place.
The talk will discuss the evolution of the garden over the centuries, the challenges of maintaining a historic garden, and look to the future ‘unwritten historic’ of historic gardens and Iford in particular.
