KIFTSGATE COURT

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	Kiftsgate Court was built around 1890, on the top of Glyde Hill, which is 9 miles South of Stratford-Upon-Avon.
	In 1918 the house was brought by Mr & Mrs Muir, grandparents of the present occupants. At that time the house only had a small paved formal garden. Mrs Muir constructed the borders which now exist, and in 1930 began work on the steep bank (more about this below). Her daughter, Diany Binny, ffirst opened the garden to the public in 1971, and also constructed the half-mooon swimming pool.

Near to the house are deep and carefully planted herbaceous borders.

The name Kiftsgate is familiar to many gardeners, though the name of the Kiftsgate rose, a vigorous white climber. This picture shows THE Kiftsgate rose. It is difficult to judge the scale of this specimen from this picture, but it measures 90 feet along the path, and is 50 feet high. The rose climbs up through a copper beech. The small magenta flowers in the picture are ordinary roses along the path.
	Occasionally, behind the borders, you can see glimpses of vast expanses of open countryside.
	The house is located on the top of Glyde Hill, and quite near to the house is a deep and steep escarpment. The panorama below shows, at the right, the house, and in the centre the area occupied by the borders near the house. At the left of the panorama you can see how the ground suddenly drops away down a steep bank.
	The escarpment forms part of the garden. The bank is planted, and a path runs down the bank. This picture is taken looking down the bank. The semi-circular object is a large swimming pool, constructed on a terrace half-way down the bank.
	From the lower garden there are fine unobstructed views. This is still quite high up. Just beyond the edge of the lawn the escarpment drops aways further.
	This is the view across the valley of the Avon, the Vale of Evesham, from the swimming pool. Stratford-Upon-Avon lies 9 miles away to the right of this picture. The Avon flows right-to-left down this valley. On the far side of the valley can be seen the Malverns and Bredon Hill, which are 20 miles away.
The lower garden also has a Summer house, where I pursuaded Mr John Chambers, the owner of Kiftsgate Court, to sit down for a minute for this picture.

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