Walmer Castle
Location: Kent
Website: Walmer Castle website
Walmer Castle was built as one of a line of coastal forts by Henry VIII in 1539. Since 1708 it has been the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. The present Lord Warden is Admiral the Lord Boyce who regularly visits and stays at Walmer for a brief period during the summer.
Walmer Castle is an intensively maintained garden of some 10 acres and registered Grade II. The garden has developed between c. 1790 and the present day. There is a commemorative lawn, woodland walk and meadow, croquet lawn and a working kitchen and cutting garden, greenhouses, as well as a double herbaceous border flanked by mature yew hedges. This is a distinctive feature of the garden known as the ‘cloud’ hedge.
The most recent addition to the gardens is the Queen Mother’s Garden, designed by Penelope Hobhouse and opened in 1997.
