Present Day
In 1994, Abbey House was bought by Ian and Barbara Pollard, who had previously owned and run Hazelbury Manor, another mansion near Box in Wiltshire. They set about transforming the 5 acres (20,000 m2), and opened the gardens to the public in 1996.
In 1998, a large skeleton was unearthed in the gardens, close to the site of the ruined Lady Chapel of Malmesbury Abbey. The find was featured in the TV archaeology show Meet the Ancestors, whose experts recreated the skeleton and speculated that it was probably a 13th century monk or abbot who walked with a limp and had a toothache.
In 2001 and increasingly in 2002, the gardens were brought to wider public attention, particularly through the acclamation of Alan Titchmarsh, who devoted an episode of the BBC TV programme Gardeners' World to Abbey House Gardens, broadcast in June 2002. On the week of transmission, the Pollards were featured in that week's edition of Radio Times.
As well as the gardens, the Pollards also became known as 'The Naked Gardeners'. Both Ian and Barbara, particularly Ian, spoke freely of their love of naturism, and were often featured in newspapers and magazines pictured naked among the foliage of Abbey House.
The couple became, for a short time, the resident gardening experts on ITV's This Morning, but the timing was not good: within a few weeks the show was struck by the sex scandal that engulfed presenter John Leslie, and suddenly the couple's 'Naked Gardeners' label did not fit.
In August 2005, and followed again with more similar events in 2006, Abbey House Gardens hosted what was thought to be the first 'Clothes Optional Day' at a major inland British tourist attraction. Naturists from all over the country flocked to the gardens, and as many as two-thirds of the visitors that day enjoyed the gardens in the nude.
The gardens cover 5 acres (20,000 m2) and include over 10,000 different plants.
Read more about this topic: Abbey House Gardens
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“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin,
That all, with one consent, praise new-born gauds.
And give to dust that is a little gilt
More laud than gilt o’er dusted;
The present eye praises the present object.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
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