Summary
A pleasure grounds and park, laid out from around the mid-1820s, as a landscaped setting for the former East Dene marine villa estate.
Reasons for Designation
The pleasure grounds and park to the former East Dene estate, Bonchurch, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, is registered at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Historic interest:
* it is a rare and a good representative example of a landscape setting to a marine villa estate that retains much of its original design.
Design interest:
* the multi-level landscape design, including pleasure grounds, walled kitchen garden, and parkland, makes good use of its coastal location and sloping topography;
* the evolution of this landscape’s design and layout is well documented in primary written accounts, artwork and cartographic evidence.
Survival:
* it retains much of the original early-C19 layout and design, as well as good evidence for later additions which reflect evolving styles and horticultural practices.
Group value:
* the designed landscape has strong group value as part of a marine villa estate ensemble along with East Dene house (listed Grade II*, NHLE 1224413), and the other listed buildings (all listed Grade II) within the former estate.
History
East Dene stands within Bonchurch, above the coastal area known as Monk’s Bay. In the mid-C19 earthworks near the cliff edge were first identified and interpreted as being the ramparts to an undated ancient fortification; the remains have been identified on Ordnance Survey (OS) Maps from the late C19 onwards as the site of a Roman camp. No trace of the earthworks were found during fieldwork in 1955 and it was suggested that the they may have been lost due to erosion; a coastal survey in 1999 recorded a bank in the scrubby woodland on the seaward side of the old Church of St Boniface, cut by a footpath and then petering out at the corner of the East Dene playing field. In the early C20, several undated east-west orientated skeletons were found at a spot in the road between the old Church of St Boniface and East Dene. Scatters of medieval pottery sherds have been identified following some minor land slumping within the East Dene estate in 2000. In the mid-C20 a source identified the site of an undated barrow or midden near the south-east corner of the site. The Manor of Bonchurch was owned by the Earl of Godwin before 1066. By 1086 it was owned by William son of Azor. In the C12 it passed to the de Lisle family and in the C14 a house and farm was erected on this site. Bonchurch Farm, is depicted on a copy of a Map of Bonchurch (1729) as a collection of buildings at the east end of Bonchurch Village Road, with surrounding fields and glebe land between the farm and the old Church of St Boniface.
The house known as East Dene was built in around 1825 to 1826, on the site of the Bonchurch Farm buildings. It was built for William H Surman and designed by the architect and playwright Samuel Beazley (1786–1851). It is an example of a marine villa, a form of fashionable house of the affluent classes occurring from the late C18 and into C19, deliberately built by the sea, usually as retreats and summer residences.
In 1826 Archdeacon Hill leased the glebe land adjacent to the church to Surman. The 42-acre estate of East Dene was sold at auction in 1833. An advertisement of the estate describes East Dene as ‘the most perfect bijou’ and details the site as including ‘verdant lawns…scenic beauties …woodland scenery…shrubbery walks, fruitful plantations…American plants’. It also notes the existence of ‘the secluded hermitage and an icehouse’ in the ‘extensive gardens’ (Maidstone and Kentish Journal Advertisement, 21 May 1833, 1). Another contemporary report, confirming the sale, describes the estate as ‘comprising the cottage residence erected in the Elizabethan style, commanding extensive views of the sea, the rocks, hills and cascades and containing numerous apartments, lawn, horticultural and other gardens, a range of conservatories, hot and succession houses, orchard, and land extending to the sea cliffs, lodge, stables, laundry, fruit house, gardeners; and fishermen’s cottages, farm-buildings and yard, coach house, stables, and premises’ (Morning Herald, 12 July 1833, 4). These descriptions indicate many aspects of the East Dene grounds were laid out during the ownership of WH Surman.
The estate was bought by Mr Cartwright in 1833. In 1836 the house was leased to Captain, later Admiral, Charles Henry Swinburne (1797-1877). This year, a lithograph of East Dene Villa, with the old Church of St Boniface in the foreground, shows a glimpse of the projecting gable with canted bay and oriel windows in the main house’s south elevation, surrounded by trees including a large sloping woodland behind, and above a view of the cliff-lined Bonchurch Down (Brannon 1836). The wooded area to the right of the house is shown bounded by a low stone wall, with an expanse of open-land descending to a coast path and the sea cliffs. Swinburne purchased the estate in 1841. The Tithe Map of Bonchurch (1843) depicts East Dene estate with an entrance drive flanked by the predecessors of East Dene Lodge and Turret House (former coach house), curving round to the main house. It also shows the walled garden to the east with three compartments including an apsidal end, along with various surrounding buildings. This area was accessed by a drive leading off the coast path; another path running off the coast path is shown heading down to the shoreline in front of the estate, which was also in Swinburne’s ownership. The land immediately south-west of the main garden plot was still marked as glebe land under the ownership of Archdeacon Hill. Features on the map which are no longer extant include a building to the north-west of the walled garden and a rectangular building on the south edge of house’s main garden area. A lithograph of 1845 (Carrick, 1845) shows a view of East Dene from the sea; the house’s south elevation appears framed by trees and with open land sloping down to the coastal path and the sea cliffs below.
Swinburne lived at East Dene with his wife Lady Jane Henrietta (1809-1896) the daughter of the third Earl of Ashburnham and his family. His children included the poet and literary reviewer Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909), who spent his summers at the estate as a child. Algernon became a well-known poet and it has been suggested that East Dene, and its proximity to the sea, helped to foster his love of the ocean which is often referenced in his writing. In the summer of 1849, Charles Dickens stayed at the neighbouring house of Winterbourne where he wrote part of David Copperfield; he was a regular visitor to East Dene and recorded an occasion having tea with Lady Swinburne when he met the young Algernon. Algernon was buried with the family tombs at the nearby new Church of St Boniface (tombs listed Grade II, National Heritage List entry (NHLE) 1224379).
In around 1854 the main house was extended to the east. It appears at roughly this time, that the house’s entrance changed from the east to the west side of the building. This year the entrance lodge was also rebuilt.
In 1861 East Dene was for sale again. Adverts gave detailed descriptions of the site, including noting that a labourer’s cottage with a private bathing machine was located near the beach, possibly referring to the pair of cottages located by the shoreline. An undated catalogue plan shows the East Dene estate with a detailed depiction of the garden layout. Although the plan is undated, it is associated with the 1860s sales agent and strongly appears to date to this sale (MP89). The plan shows that since the 1840s the irregularly shaped building in the pleasure garden had been demolished. To the north is a band of woodland with a series of winding paths, as well as a covered tank to the north-east. A shrubbery between the east side of the house and the walled garden includes a series of winding paths, and narrow bands of dense planting interspersed with more formal lines of planting. The most concentrated network of pathways and variety of planting are shown in the south and south-east sides of the shrubbery, along with additional rectangular structures and circular features. A dark line running along the south side of the shrubbery indicates the likely location of the wall. The lower level to the south is an open paddock with a more dispersed arrangement of trees. The coast path is also shown. On the east side of the estate, below the woodland another open paddock with a thin spread of trees is shown, and bounded along its east edge by a hedge line; the line is broken by a gap near its centre which is flanked by a pair of trees. The First Edition OS Map (surveyed: 1862 to 1863, published: 1866; 1:2500) shows some of the details depicted on the sales plan.
In 1865 the estate was sold to John Snowden-Henry (1824-1896), Member of Parliament for South-East Lancashire and a magistrate and his wife Annie Elizabeth, they are understood to have spent £90,000 on the house and grounds. In the mid-1860s the building to the south of the estate entrance was rebuilt as a coach house with stables. Contemporary accounts refer to Snowden-Henry’s interest in horticulture, as well as the family hosting several horticultural shows and events within the gardens. By the mid-1870s a boathouse, originally with a thatched roof, had been built on the shore of East Dene. A late-C19 account of East Dene notes the newly-built coach house, and describes East Dene gardens as ‘the grounds surrounding the house are well laid out, and command views of the greatest beauty’ (Venables, 1887, 31). Snowden-Henry passed away in 1896 and the following year East Dene was put up for auction, with reference made to the ornamental grounds including a hanging wood with terraces and walks, lawns, ferns, and exotic houses, a kitchen garden with a large quality of grass, as well as stabling and coach houses (Morning Post, 5 June 1897, 12). The Second Edition OS Map (revised: 1896, published: 1898; 1:2500) depicts a glass-covered fernery building in the north-east corner of the shrubbery. There are also additional glasshouses shown within and around the walled garden, and additional buildings to the south including an octagonal dairy. To the east of the estate and on the south-east edge of the woodland, the map shows additional farm buildings in this area.
In 1899 East Dene was sold to JE Gordon member of Parliament for Elgin and Nain. In the early-C20 an additional boathouse was built at the south-west end of the estate’s shoreline. In 1904 the estate was bought to serve as a convent school run by the nuns of the Convent of the Sacred Heart. In 1911 a glazed covered walkway was added between the main house and the coach house.
In 1949 East Dene was sold and the ownership of estate began to be subdivided. At the time of the sale a report noted the unusual inclusion of the privately-owned shoreline (Country Life, 1949). The western side of the estate, including the main house, entrance lodge, coach house, pleasure grounds and half of the upper woodland became known as the Workers Travel Association Holiday House, East Dene. The east side of the estate, including the walled garden, surrounding buildings and east half of the upper woodland became part of Carrigdene Farm. Many of the cottages, farm and garden buildings in this area have been converted to residential accommodation since the mid-C20; the kitchen garden was also reused as a market garden. During the latter half of the C20, houses were built between the Bonchurch Shute and the north side of the estates, leading to slight modifications to the northern edge of the wooded area. Also in the latter half of the C20 the shoreline came into the ownership of the Isle of Wight council; the sea cliffs in front of East Dene have suffered from the impact of marine erosion with various interventions made to control its affects. In the 1970s, Carrigdene Farm, formerly in one of the buildings to the south of the walled garden, was relocated and a new farmhouse and barns were built on the site of the late-C19 buildings on the south-east edge of the upper woodland. In 1979 East Dene house and its grounds were sold and became an educational activity centre. In the late-C20 a swimming pool was installed at the south-west corner the sloping land to the south of the main building. In 2020 the activity centre closed and it was sold in 2022.
Details
A pleasure grounds and park, laid out from around the mid-1820s, as a landscaped setting for the former East Dene marine villa estate.
LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING
East Dene lies on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, in Bonchurch, within the parish of Ventnor. It is located between Bonchurch Down and the English Channel; to the east is an area of land known as The Landslip, tree-covered sloping land which has a long history of instability including major landslide events in 1810 and 1818. The area under assessment comprises just over 11.3ha. The site is laid out on a series of sloping levels that descend from north to south, down to the coastline. The north boundary is defined by the edge of a long band of woodland. The west boundary of the estate is mostly enclosed by various sections of stone boundary walls that run down Bonchurch Shute, around to the former entrance lodge and entranceway, past the former stables and coach house and down along the side of the coast path and past the old church. The south-west corner of the site is defined by the line of the coast path and a footpath below, and descends down the coastal slope, including a set of public toilets which stands on the site of an early-C20 boathouse. The southern boundary extends along the base of the coastal slope and to the former 1870s boathouse in the south-east corner. The east side of the former estate is defined by the east edge of enclosed fields within the estate’s former parkland, extends northward to the east end of the upper woodland. The park and garden of East Dene is laid out over sloping ground which descends in various levels down to the south. The main house stands on a small plateau below the upper woodland and in the north-west corner of the pleasure grounds; its elevated position affords it views out towards the English Channel to the south, and can be seen from passing boats or ships in the sea.
ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES
The principal entrance to East Dene is on the west side of the estate near a junction with Bonchurch Village Road and Bonchurch Shute. It starts at a set of stone gate piers, curving round through a gully with woodland on one side and a planted rockery on the other; it curves round to the east where it opens onto the first full view of East Dene house. The entrance gates and piers are flanked by the former entrance lodge (known as East Dene Lodge, listed Grade II, National Heritage List entry (NHLE) 1224472) to the north and the former stables and coach house (known as Turret House, listed Grade II, NHLE 1224474) to the south. The drive appears on the Tithe Map (1843) curving around the north side of East Dene house and leading up to the east side of the building; access to the east side of the estate is shown via a separate road heading up from the coast path to the south. After the house was extended in the mid-C19, it is understood that the west elevation became the principal entrance to the building and the First Edition OS Map (1866) shows an entrance coming off the drive and leading to the building’s west side; the main route of the drive is shown to have been extended eastward. The map also shows a small path, with a footbridge over the drive, running between the west side of the house and up to the section of boundary wall opposite the mid-C19 new Church of St Boniface (listed Grade II, NHLE 1224349); the bridge has been removed and there is evidence of its location in the banks either side of the drive. The drive continues eastward as a semi-sunken way between the banks and revetment walls of the upper woodland and pleasure grounds. Immediately to the north-east of the house an icehouse partially buried within the bank on the south side of the principal drive; although not depicted on historic maps, an icehouse is first referred to in the 1833 sales advert. Towards the east end of the drive’s south wall there is a recessed section of wall, an infilled entrance to the pleasure grounds which stands opposite the entrance to one of the woodland pathways. The drive continues past the walled kitchen garden and down the east side of the former garden and farm buildings. The eastern route originally ran closer to the former garden buildings (known as Underley) before veering due east and then south-west; most of this section of drive was rerouted further east in around the mid-C20. The drive continues down past the former farm buildings, and joins with the route of the coast path to the south.
The coast path runs through the southern edge of the East Dene estate. The Tithe Map (1843) shows the original line of coast path running past the old Church of St Boniface (listed Grade II*, NHLE 1224516), through an open paddock, at the time glebe land, before crossing into the East Dene estate where it provided access to the eastern drive leading up to the walled garden and farm buildings. A small spur path is shown deviating south towards the coastline. The First Edition OS Map (1866) shows the coast path on the same route along the bottom of the open paddock below East Dene, by this time within the ownership of the estate. Since the mid-C20 the route of the coast path has been modified, most likely due to the effects of marine erosion. The new route has been placed slightly further north and maintained as a footpath, before joining back with the access road on the east side of East Dene.
PRINCIPAL BUILDING
East Dene house (listed Grade II*; NHLE 1224413) is a marine villa that stands on a small plateau in the north-west corner of the pleasure grounds with the upper woodland to the north. The house was built in around 1825 to 1826 for Mr W H Surman by the architect S Beazley in a Tudor-Gothic style. In the 1850s, under the ownership of Charles Henry Swinburne, it was extended to the east. At around this time the principal entranceway appears to have changed from the east to the west elevation. The building’s south elevation, which includes various oriel and canted-bay windows, stands at the top of the garden slope, looking out towards the sea. The house is linked at its south-west corner to the former stables and coach house (Turret House) by an early-C20 glazed covered walkway.
PLEASURE GROUNDS
A band of woodland runs around the north-west corner of the East Dene estate, and along its north side. It is laid out over a steep slope; its southern edge is on a higher level than the rest of the pleasure grounds below. It is unclear how many of the trees in this area were in place before the establishment of East Dene. The Tithe Map (1843) shows the northern boundary of the East Dene estate largely conforming with the line of upper woodland. This area is clearly shown as dense woodland on the 1860s sales plan and the First Edition OS Map (1866), both of which also show various pathways laid out all along its length. Although heavily overgrown, the routes of some of these pathways are still discernible. In addition to a large number of established trees, other planting includes various types of laurels and ferns. Near the north-east end of the woodland is a large plateau which appears to be the site of a covered tank shown on the 1860s sales plan.
There is also a small band of trees and planting running along the west side of the main house, and between it and the former stables and coach house; the 1911 covered walkway partially runs through this planting.
A narrow terrace runs along the south side of the main house and beyond is a steeply sloping lawn. In the south-west corner of the lawn is a swimming pool added in around the late-C20.
Immediately east of the main house is an open terrace bounded by a tall revetment wall on its south side. Further east is a shrubbery. The 1830s (Brannon) and 1840s (Carrick) lithographs of East Dene show a wooded area to the east of the house with a long stone wall in front. The layout of the shrubbery is first shown in detail on the 1860s sales plan, and First Edition OS Map (1866), with several paths winding through the densely planted area. Currently this area appears as a series of levels and terraces descending to the south. Although heavily overgrown there are the remains of pathways, including steps and sections of walling. Near the shrubbery’s north-east corner, to the south of the drive, is the roofless remains of a late-C19 fernery with a grotto at the north end. It is first depicted on the Second Edition OS Map (1898) within a pre-existing semi-circular enclosure. Although there is a reference to a secluded hermitage in the 1833 sales advert, at present there is no clear indication the fernery structure relates to that feature. In the south-east corner of the shrubbery, near the walled garden, is a curvilinear-wall garden feature consisting of a pair of parallel rubble-stone walls. Located near the highpoint on a slope within the pleasure grounds, the structure was likely to have been built as a walled viewing area or lookout which is directed southwards and towards the sea. The 1860s sales plan shows various curvilinear pathways and features in this area. The First Edition OS Map (1866) depicts a circular structure near the site of this garden feature; it also appears on the Second Edition OS Map (1898) where it is depicted slightly further east, and on the Third Edition OS Map (revised:1907, published:1908; 1:2500) with a rectangular feature adjacent. A recent tree survey (2022) of the shrubbery records a range of trees and shrubs including many evergreen species such as Holm Oak, Western Red Cedar, Yew, Austrian Pine, Monterey Cypress, Holly, Bay and Evergreen Magnolia, together with native and naturalised broadleaved species including Horse Chestnut, Beech, Copper Beech, and Small-leafed Lime. Exotic trees include Palms, Persian Ironwood, Tree of Heaven, Tulip Tree and Maidenhair Tree. The south line of the shrubbery is defined by a rubble stone wall. The current wall consists of roughly three sections; openings have been made along its length and some of the stonework shows signs of rebuilding and repointing. The central section of wall, with an undulating top, runs along a serpentine line which appears to deviate slightly from the straight line shown on the C19 and early-C20 maps.
Below the sloping lawn and shrubbery is an open paddock; it has a flatter profile than the estate’s upper levels. The west side of this paddock was glebe land leased to the owner of East Dene in 1826, until the mid-C19 when it came within the ownership of East Dene estate. The First Edition OS Map (1866) shows this area as largely open with some isolated trees. Part of the paddock has been used a playing field since the late C20. The south edge of this paddock has been partially truncated by the rerouting of the coast path, divided from the paddock by a fence and hedge line, as well as through the impact of marine erosion.
KITCHEN GARDEN
The steeply sloping walled kitchen garden is located to the east of the pleasure grounds. It is a roughly rectangular area orientated north to south, and subdivided into three levels. Its current (2023) overall form largely conforms with its depiction on the Tithe Map (1843). The walls are rubble stone, and most are topped by stone-cobble coping. The walls at the north end are around 4m high, with the height decreasing at the lower levels to just over 1m. Some sections of wall have been rebuilt and additional concrete supports and buttresses have been added. The enclosure would have been entered into through various arched doorways. Due to the rebuilding of part of the wall on the north-west corner, one of the entrances from the shrubbery has been lost. Another blocked opening into the pleasure grounds survives at the north end, and other doorways with large metal-studded timber doors survive on the east side. The upper level is the largest of the three and includes an apsidal-shaped wall at the north end. Along the east side are the ruinous remains of a late-C19 glass house. A set of stone steps lead down to the middle level, now (2023) in use as allotments. The remains of the bases of late-C19 glasshouses and cold frames can still be seen, including a polychromatic tile floor. The lowest level is accessed through an entrance in the south wall, and includes the ruinous remains of the vine house, and the south-west corner incorporates the partially-rebuilt, gable-end remains of a former building; both structures appear on the Tithe Map (1843). Part of the south wall has been modified with the insertion of a metal footbridge to provide access to the former farm buildings beyond.
To the east and south of the walled garden are various former garden stores and farm buildings, most of which have been converted to accommodation since the mid-C20, as well as former estate cottages. The line of stores attached to the east side of the walled garden, depicted on the Tithe Map (1843), were partially rebuilt and converted to accommodation in the mid-C20 and early-C21. Further east are a set of three adjoining late-C19 garden stores, converted into a single dwelling (Underley) in the C20; a swimming pool was later installed within its garden on the site of a series of demolished late-C19 glass houses. Below is a cottage which appears on the First Edition OS Map (Carmel, listed Grade II, NHLE 1224904). To the south is a model farm which first appears on the Tithe Map (1843), with later modifications to its footprint shown on the late-C19 OS Maps; the complex was converted to holiday accommodation in the late-C20. To the south-west is a former fisherman’s cottage, also shown on the Tithe Map (1843), and an attached late-C19 octagonal dairy (Monk’s Bay Cottage, listed Grade II, NHLE 1224878); an extension was added within its garden to the west in around 2019.
PARK
Along the east edge of the former estate is a line of enclosed fields. The First Edition OS Map (1866) shows this area as a series of enclosed fields with a thin spread of trees. In the late C19, buildings were added to the north end of these enclosures; in the 1970s the newly relocated Carrigdene farmhouse was built on the site of these buildings and around the same time further barns were added. The field enclosure boundaries have undergone modifications throughout the C19 and C20, with some land on the east edge lost due to landslip. The northern field has become overgrown with trees. Below is an existing pasture field which includes some established trees. In the early C21 a gravel parking area was laid out in the field at the south end of the enclosures.
Along the south side of the site is the coastline which was within the ownership of the estate from at least the 1840s until the latter half of the C20. Several mid-C19 lithographs show East Dene located above a set of sea cliffs. The area of Monk's Bay has long been subjected to marine erosion. As a result of this and interventions made to reinforce the ground, the land between the edge of East Dene’s south paddock and the Monk’s Bay coastal area has become a more gradual scrub-covered coastal slope with various footpaths leading down to the shore. At the east end of the slope is the late-C19 former boathouse (The Boathouse); its roof has been changed from thatch to slate, and the building has been extended to the north and converted into residential use. At the west end is a set of public toilets on the site of an early-C20 boathouse.
