Doddington Place Gardens

Doddington Place Gardens is an estate garden in Faversham featuring around ten acres of cultivated grounds with multiple distinct sections. The design includes an Edwardian rock garden with pools, sunken formal areas with structured plantings, and herbaceous borders contained within clipped yew hedges.

The grounds were laid out in 1870 for Sir John Croft, with designs by landscape architect Markham Nesfield. The Jeffreys family later transformed the site by adding rock gardens and reshaping the overall composition.

The gardens have hosted film productions and opera performances, including The Marriage of Figaro, drawing artists and audiences to this corner of Kent. This connection to the performing arts reflects how private estates became gathering places for cultural activities beyond gardening.

The grounds are accessible during designated visiting periods with varying conditions depending on the season and recent weather. Visitors should wear suitable footwear as the layout includes hills, pathways at different levels, and uneven areas throughout the rock garden sections.

Ancient yew trees on the grounds were planted before the First World War and have grown into distinctive cloud-like formations over the decades. These specimens create unusual sculptural shapes across the open lawns that most visitors initially mistake for intentional topiary work.

Website: http://doddingtonplacegardens.co.uk

GPS coordinates: 51.28360,0.78570

Latest update: December 14, 2025 11:05