Corsley House, Corsley, Warminster BA12 7QH
By kind permission of Glen Senk and Keith Johnson

Date: June 13 2024 Time: 2.30pm Cost: £20 to include tea and cake

Facilities: Ample parking. WC. Very uneven underfoot. No dogs.

Guided Tour of the Gardens: The Head Gardener Jo Downes will give us a guided tour of the gardens

“When we moved into Corsley House in 2018 little did we know it was located in one of the most wonderful villages in the whole of England. We have never felt more welcomed or at home, and it is our pleasure to share our gardens with you”. Jo came to Corsley in spring 2019 just after Glen Senk & Keith Johnson had purchased the property so has been involved in the restoration and alteration of the gardens from the beginning. The evolution has been organic, with a lot of collaboration between Jo and Keith. He has the creative ideas and Jo has the planting ideas. 

Corsley House started life as a picturesque farmhouse in the early 18th century, resembling a fairy tale castle with its leaded windows and stone turrets.  

In 1812 the Barton family hired renowned Bath Architect John Pinch the elder to add a substantial Greek revival addition lending the house a unique character with one entrance feeling much older than the other.  The gem of the property is the Walled Garden with its spectacular view of Cley Hill. The garden, which has been returned to it’s former glory, would have kept the family and staff substantially self-sufficient all year long. A new addition to the grounds is the wave lawn which undulates along the Georgian side of the house. Most of the outbuildings at Corsley House have been unaltered including a lovely apple store and a listed grain store on staddle stones.

Jo Downes Head Gardener
Prior to Corsley Jo spent a short stint as a horticultural lecturer, teaching further education students as well as RHS part time courses, she was MD of a green waste composting facility, generating sustainable, peat free from garden waste. She holds a Higher National Diploma in Horticulture from Pershore College of Horticulture and a degree in Environmental Science from Bath Spa University. She had her own horticultural 'plant maintenance' after graduating from Pershore College in 1998 and then, while her children were young, returned to university for my BSc Degree in Bath. Jo refuses to use any chemicals in the garden, even if sometimes that means losing the odd plant.