History
The Old Rectory was built by The Reverend William Duthy, Rector of All Saints Church, Sudborough. Reverend Duthy built the house at his own expense in 1820 to replace the original Rectory, built in the 1700's, considered a “poor house” liable to flooding from Harper’s Brook.
The Rectory that exists today was originally constructed as a square 2 storey building which was later extended in 1846 to include the stables, needed to accommodate the Reverend's growing family!
The Rectory was eventually sold by the Church in 1955. Some 30 years later in 1983, when the Old Rectory came onto the property market, it had fallen somewhat into disrepair, with suspect plumbing, limited electricity and no central heating. Nevertheless, Ann and Tony Huntington were intrigued by the Agent's description and decided to take a look; Ann remembers –
“Despite the cold and rain on the day of our first viewing we were inspired by the beautiful setting and the prospect of developing the house and gardens was most exciting to us."
"Sudborough was and is a pretty Northamptonshire village with plenty of thatched cottages, a lovely Church, village pub and hardly any traffic; who couldn’t fall in love with it? We moved into our new home just 6 months later and began what was to become a labour of love with the house and garden."
"My background had been interior design and painting so I had a sense of colour and texture, but little gardening knowledge. However, with advice from garden designers Rosemary Verey and Elizabeth Bulkeley I began the steep learning curve which seems to have carried on ever since; I never knew how little I knew! It was easy to become obsessed with gardening and my great plant passion the Hellebores. Luckily I was kept in order by garden expert Rupert Golby who gave me advice on planting plans; Rupert keeps the reins on me!"
We have progressed to opening these Northamptonshire gardens to the public between March and September. To walk about the gardens now it's difficult to remember those early challenging days transforming the garden from its simple layout which did little to complement the setting of the house."
"Now, framing the sweeping lawn you’ll find herbaceous borders, planted to provide colour and variety throughout the year and home to many sun-loving species. One of my favourite areas is the rose garden planted with a profusion of David Austin English roses in hues of pink and mauve, providing a burst of colour against the main lawn. To sit there on a sunny afternoon, amongst the frangrant blooms, taking in the view towards the house is just heaven.”
These Northamptonshire gardens are open to visit to visit between March and September and are part of the National Gardens Scheme ngs.org.uk
Quick links
To read more about plants to see through the season visit the highlights page. To find out when you can see the gardens and how to find them by road visit the visitor info page.