A Tour of 2 Private Gardens: Russell House & Abbots Grange
Tue June 10, 2025 @ 10:30 am - 12:30 pm BST
Broadway’s gardens have been the backdrop for artists, writers, actors and musicians for over a century, and continue this theme today.
On this walking tour of two famous private gardens with Marion Mako, we shall hear about some of the stories behind those who created, inhabited and visited them, all looking their finest in June.
The morning garden tour will visit:
- Russell House (starting point)
- Abbots Grange
The tour will start at Russell House which was the home of the Broadway Art Colony in the 1880’s, and was the setting for Sargent’s Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose which now hangs in the Tate in London. A beautiful one acre garden including gothic tower, gazebo, and ice-house.
The tour will then continue on to Abbots Grange, a short walk away, the grounds of which used to be connected by a garden gate during the arts colony and Sargent years.
Sat in over 8 acres of parkland grounds, Abbots Grange is the oldest dwelling in Broadway and one of the oldest domestic/monastic properties in the UK, built during the early part of the 14th Century. It is considered by the Institute of Archaeology to be one of the most important and best preserved English monastic manor houses, and has a rich and fascinating history. It was discovered in the 1880’s by designer William Morris and then the American Frank Millet and became a sanctuary for some of the greatest names in European and American culture in the 1880’s.
Marion Mako is a freelance garden historian and designer who has worked in both the UK and USA.
Her design work focuses on planting, taking inspiration from various historical styles, a subject she also lectures on at The London College of Garden Design. As part of the series of The Historic Gardens of England, she co-authored two books about the counties of Cheshire and Somerset. She has written books on the history of the late Duke of Westminster’s gardens at Eaton Hall and University of Bristol’s gardens, as well as contributing to the Gardening website Gardenista. In addition Marion is researching the gardens of two large private estates, creating legacy books for their owners, as well as leading a wide variety of bespoke garden tours. She is also a Trustee for the Painswick Rococo Garden in Gloucestershire.
Tickets £25
Please use the public car parks in Broadway
Tickets go on sale through the website at 10am on 17th March.
You can become a Benefactor for as little as £60 to qualify for priority booking and support our Outreach Projects in doing so, applications are now open.
Russell House Gardens
Abbotts Grange
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