The garden is based around a lovely 18th-century house, built of warm-toned Bath stone. Beside the house is a beautifully elegant conservatory looking out onto green lawns and a formal garden.
The house itself is private and cannot generally be visited, but the extensive 20th-century gardens that surround the house pack a lot of interest into a fairly small area. The design is primarily Arts and Crafts, with separate 'garden rooms' in different styles, similar to the layout of Hidcote Garden in Gloucestershire.
Perhaps the most interesting feature is a sinuous water garden and lily pond, with bridges and twisting trails. Close to the house are terraces and formal arrangements of beds, while at the furthest point of the garden is an orchard area. Throughout are wonderful topiary, primarily of clipped yew, with a 'cloud hedge' trimmed to look like billowing puffs of cloud.
There is a country walk from The Courts to Great Chalfield Manor and Garden. Information on the walk is contained in a leaflet at The Courts.
Visiting
There is signed parking in the town parking lot on The Midlands street, immediately opposite the main garden entrance. It's about a 2-minute walk from the parking area to the garden ... unless you do what our family did and miss the garden entrance, which is set back from the road. We walked 10 minutes along the B3107 wondering where the garden was until we realised our mistake.
We came in mid-summer, on a cloudless day, when the water features were a welcome distraction from the hot sun. What I recall most was the wonderful lush colour that seemed to be everywhere, with quiet pockets of shade and peaceful trails. The Courts is really not a large garden, but you wouldn't know it, for there is so much of interest.
at The Courts!
