This prestigious national award, presented annually since 1984, is designed to recognise the importance of some of the country’s most spectacular gardens with outstanding horticultural and public appeal. This year’s public vote featured eight shortlisted gardens from across the country and garnered a record number of votes. Across the four-month voting period, Arundel beat fierce competition from gardens such as Iford Manor, Penshurst Place, and Hestercombe.
Arundel Castle has been home to the Earls of Arundel & Dukes of Norfolk since 1067 and is found within the South Downs National Park, West Sussex. Set within 38 acres of gardens and landscapes, each year visitors are treated to beautiful floral displays throughout the seasons with wonderful collections of plants, specimen trees and wildflowers.
Work on the gardens has been ongoing for the past 25 years, beginning with the restoration of the 1852 Clarke & Hope Vine House in 2000, through a range of different projects throughout the years, including this year’s new Dipping Pond, designed by Head Gardener, Martin Duncan, to showcase the biodiversity of pond life, as well as a new woodland Stumpery within the landscape.
The garden’s annual tulip festival in April is regarded as one of the best tulip displays in Britain. Over the past 12 years, the team have planted 1.5 million bulbs, including narcissus, tulips, fritillaries, alliums, and camassias.
Martin Duncan, head gardener at Arundel Castle & Gardens, said: “We are delighted to have won this award. We would like to thank Historic Houses, Christie's, and everyone who voted for us - your recognition shows how much people love our gardens and landscape. This achievement would not have been possible without the support and foresight of The Duke and Duchess of Norfolk, the Castle Trustees, and the dedication and passion of our castle garden team and wonderful volunteers.”
Orlando Rock, Chairman, Christie’s UK, said: “I am delighted to congratulate Arundel Castle on receiving this year’s Historic Houses Garden of the Year Award. Framed by one of England’s most historic and magnificent castles, the gardens at Arundel are a triumph of imagination, craftsmanship, and care. They reflect centuries of dedication by the Dukes of Norfolk and their team, who continue to nurture a place of extraordinary character and beauty. Christie’s is proud to support an award that celebrates such remarkable expressions of heritage and creativity.”
This year’s Judge’s Choice award winner is Wollerton Old Hall, in Shropshire. Designed by Lesley and John Jenkins more than four decades ago, this garden, set around a Grade II* sixteenth-century hall, has developed into an important modern garden in the English Garden tradition with echoes of Arts and Crafts. Covering three acres, it consists of a series of fourteen linked garden “rooms” filled with modern and often specialist plantings.
