Witley Court - Restoration

Restoration

The two immense fountains have survived. They were designed by Nesfield and executed by James and William Forsyth, who were carrying out sculpture in the house and the church. The largest, the Perseus and Andromeda Fountain, has been restored to working order by English Heritage. For working times, see the Witley Court English Heritage website (link below). The remnants of Nesfield's magnificent parterres can also be seen.

In 2003 Witley Court's owners, the Wigington family, placed the freehold for sale on Internet auction site eBay for £975,000. However, the arrangement with English Heritage would remain unchanged, irrespective of any change in ownership regardless of who buys the site, and Witley Court will continue to be a visitor attraction.

In more recent times, the original plans and designs for the formal gardens have been discovered, and are in the process of being restored. The main area of the gardens, the South Parterre, between the house and the Perseus and Andromeda fountain, has already been completed. Meanwhile, work is ongoing on the East Parterre region.

A video made in 1967 by the band Procul Harum used Witley Court as the location. At this time the Witley Court site was completely derelict. The video link is given below under "External Links". The enormous difference that the restoration work has made can be estimated from this 1967 video.

  • Full view of the now fully operational Perseus and Andromeda fountain

  • One of the two stone temples in the formal gardens

  • View from within the Orangery

  • Inside the vast gutted ballroom

  • A scarce piece of surviving Carton Pierre plasterwork (a form of papier-mâché) in the Staircase Hall

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