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Spring / Summer 2019
Aspects of Land
S
pring is the perfect
time for a visit to
Lydney Park Estate
in the Forest of
Dean. Its woodland
gardens are a blaze of colour
as the azaleas, rhododendrons,
and pieris vie for attention.
The estate is owned by
Rupert Bathurst, the fourth
Viscount Bledisloe, and has
been in his family for 300
years. It was his grandfather
who was responsible for
planting this stunning
woodland display.
“I grew up coming to Lydney
Park at the weekends for as
long as I can remember,” says
Bathurst. “My father managed
the estate from 1958 to 2009,
but we lived in London.”
Bathurst, a successful
portrait artist, has changed
that and rather than keep
Lydney Park just for the
weekends, he and his family
live at the estate full time.
“As an artist, I could move
my business down here and
make the house a home,” he
explains. “I wanted the estate
and my family to feel like part
of the community. We have a
lot of staff who have been with
us for 40 years or more; they
have put their life’s work into
looking after the place and I
wanted to honour and respect
that,” he says.
The estate hosts local scout
groups and makes sure that
when it opens to the public it
keeps the costs low enough
to make it affordable for
everyone.
“When I first took the estate
on, I worked full-time getting
to grips with it all, but now
I spend about three days a
week in my studio – which
is conveniently opposite the
estate office – and the rest
of the time strategising and
managing the estate.”
The estate works hard
to be of value to the local
community, a working farm
and a private residence all
at the same time. It employs
34 people and houses many
employees and retired
employees in properties
around the estate.
The main sources of income
come from the commercial
property – including a stable
block that it rents out to
the Camphill Village Trust’s
Taurus Crafts centre, which
attracts thousands of visitors
a year – and the dairy farm
of 1,100 cows run on a New
Zealand grazing system.
“The cows are all grass-
fed and milked once a day in
our rotary parlour. It’s a low
input, low output system,
but income can be variable
as it depends on volatile milk
prices,” Rupert explains.
LYDNEY
PARK
ESTATE
It’s a delicate job
finding the right
balance between
attracting people
– and income – to
your estate, while
maintaining the
privacy of a
family home
Focus on…
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The house was rebuilt in
Victorian times in the centre of
the park – the original house had
been near the road.
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Woodland
gardens put on a spectacular
bloom.
3
The steep deer park is
popular with shooting parties.
4
Winding paths and spring
colour.
5
Teas in the main house.
6
Woodland folly.
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DID YOU
KNOW...
J R R Tolkien was involved
in the excavations of the
Roman temple at Lydney
Park, and a curse about a
ring was found here that
is widely believed to have
inspired his Lord of the
Rings trilogy.
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