Surrey Homes | SH14 | December 2015 | Interiors supplement inside
The lifestyle magazine for Surrey - Inspiring Interiors, Fabulous Fashion, Delicious Dishes
The lifestyle magazine for Surrey - Inspiring Interiors, Fabulous Fashion, Delicious Dishes
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Above left: A much-loved teddy sits guard on the upstairs landing, next to Claire’s bedroom, which looks towards the castle and was once the bedroom of a<br />
Land Army matron. Above right: Chunky knits and bright fabrics hint at Claire’s love of sewing and making, while a Lloyd Loom chair looks perfectly at home<br />
gave the dimensions to a friend who made it with me.”<br />
The cottage and the adjoining cottage were originally<br />
built by Vita Sackville-West as accommodation for workers<br />
on the estate. Claire’s cottage was once the home of former<br />
head gardener Pamela Schwerdt and her partner Sibylle<br />
Kreutzberger. They gardened here at Sissinghurst for many<br />
years, originally working for Vita, then continuing to work<br />
in the gardens after her death in 1962 and once the National<br />
Trust took over the running of Sissinghurst in 1967.<br />
Claire often finds echoes of Pam and Sibylle popping up in<br />
her garden: “Plants that they once grew appear unexpectedly<br />
from time to time, which always makes me smile,” says<br />
Claire. It is Pam and Sibylle’s work – their planting schemes<br />
and landscaping – that we can still see at Sissinghurst today.<br />
The latest head gardener, Troy Scott Smith, has<br />
plans to bring the garden closer to the way it was<br />
when Vita was around — “allowing a rose to billow<br />
or a meadow to flourish”. He has been working on<br />
the ‘loosening’ for a couple of years now but, as Claire<br />
explains, “it’s a big thing to turn around. The changes<br />
are happening, but they’ll take a little while to show.”<br />
The kitchen is small and neat with a secluded view<br />
out across the back garden. “I think originally it was a<br />
scullery and pantry, with the main kitchen in the other<br />
room,” says Claire. “There must have been a range where<br />
the fireplace in the living room is.” The space is now<br />
beautifully crammed with logs for the fire in the room<br />
next door. The front room is the largest downstairs space,<br />
with plenty of room for a rustic table and chairs and<br />
some additional comfortable seating. Not much has been<br />
installed by previous occupants, but Claire thinks that<br />
the ‘built-in’ cabinet in the front room must have<br />
<br />
59 www.wealdentimes.co.uk