A focus on…
Hidcote Gardens

The Mastermind: Lawrence Johnston (1871–1958)

Lawrence Johnston was a man of quiet contradictions. Despite his military title of “The Major”, Johnston was a shy, reclusive and deeply artistic soul. Once described as a “Mother-Ridden” Enigma by a famous National Trust figure James Lees-Milne, Johnston never married and remained deeply devoted to his mother and his plants.

An accomplished water colourist and a global plant hunter, Johnston went on gruelling expeditions to the Alps, South Africa and China to find exotic species to bring home, choosing plants for their texture and colour harmony. It was his mother’s vast inheritance from her two husbands that allowed Johnston to spend his life traveling and gardening without ever needing to earn a traditional living.

Over a lifetime Johnston made the Arts and Crafts gardens so spectacular. In 1922, when the garden was essentially complete, he took on Frank Adams from Windsor Castle as Head Gardener. Then in 1948, Hidcote made history as the very first property the National Trust accepted solely for its garden (rather than for a historic house).

The Matriarch: Gertrude Winthrop

Gertrude Winthrop, mother of Lawrence Johnston, was a wealthy American socialite from a New York whose family wealth came from rope-making . Her wealth was further solidified through a divorce and her marriage to Charles Francis Winthrop.

While her son wanted to dig in the dirt, Gertrude wanted to host. Being a formidable figure, she kept a sharp eye on local parish affairs.

Gertrude moved to the Cotswolds to escape a scandalous past in the American South (a rare-at-the-time divorce) and hoped to find her son a suitable wife among the local gentry.

Hidcote was a magnet for the “Cotswold Set” of the early 20th century. The garden rooms played host to literary and artistic giants like Edith Wharton and the garden designer Vita Sackville-West, who took much inspiration from Hidcote when creating Sissinghurst.