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National Gardens Scheme
Spetchley is one of just three of the original English gardens opened to the public for the National Gardens Scheme in 1924.
Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar (right) was a family friend of the Berkeleys and stayed at the Gardener’s Cottage on occasion. He enjoyed fishing and would go out on a rowing boat on the lake. The sound of the wind with the pine trees at Spetchley is mentioned in the Dream of Gerontius.
John Evelyn
One of the great cedars surrounding the Rose Lawn, was grown from seed brought back from Lebanon by family friend, the diarist John Evelyn.
A Lucky Escape!
Another of the cedars was dramatically reduced in size during the war, when an American fighter plane - flying low to greet friends on the ground – clipped the top of it. Amazingly, the pilot didn’t crash!
World War 2
Spetchley Park was to have been used by Winston Churchill and the Cabinet durimg WW2 should London become too dangerous for them to stay there. Although never needed for this purpose the USAAF 8th Air Force used Spetchley Park as a recuperation centre for their pilots during the war (see picture on the right).
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