Berkshire
Gardens Trust
Reg.Charity No.1201501

May Garden Visit to Kidmore House, Oxon

Monday, 9th May at 4.30pm. Please note later time for this event.

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We are pleased to offer this opportunity to see the gardens and vineyard at Kidmore House in the company of the owner Niamh Kendall, a RHS qualified horticulturalist who has been restoring and developing the garden since 2002, with a newly planted vineyard created by Niamh and her husband Stephen.

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Kidmore House is a beautiful Grade II* late 17C Queen Anne house in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  In 1158 Kidmore House stood on land owned by Walter Giffard, Earl of Buckingham. He bestowed the land to Augustinian friars and Kidmore House and other land in Caversham continued with the friars, until the dissolution of the Abbey in 1536. The house was built in 1680.  Much later the house passed from the Ogilvie family to Major Huguenot Waterhouse and Lady Caroline Waterhouse, the daughter of John Spencer Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough.  The gardens include a walled kitchen garden, rose garden, ha-ha, new pond and a Champion sweet chestnut planted around the time the house was built in 1680. 

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Afternoon tea will be available and is included in the entrance fee.  The owners Stephen and Niamh Kendall will be making a donation from the fees to the charity ‘Thrive’.    

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There is a maximum number of only 20 people for this event so please book early. Until Friday, 22nd April, only BGT members may book. Thereafter bookings from non-members are welcomed.

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NOTE: The gardens are on level ground and generally accessible with some gravel paths and slightly uneven surfaces.  Please note that there is a ha-ha and pond.  The owners are happy for photographs to be taken at this visit. Any covid arrangements will be sent out to attendees nearer the time.

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A map and instructions on parking and facilities will also be provided to those people who book.   There is ample parking for 10 cars and there are toilets available in the grounds.  Kidmore House is in South Oxfordshire, just 1 mile from the borders of Reading.

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Cost: Tickets are £12 for members and £14 for non-members. 

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Queries: Please contact Janet by email at BerksGTenquiries@gmail.com.    

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Photographs courtesy of Niamh Kendal