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Standen is an Arts and Crafts house located to the south of East Grinstead, West Sussex, England. The house and its surrounding gardens belong to the National Trust and are open to the public. It is a Grade I listed building.[1]


Between 1892 and 1894 architect Philip Webb, who was a friend of William Morris, designed the house for a prosperous London solicitor, James Beale, his wife Margaret, and their family. It is decorated with Morris carpets, fabrics and wallpapers, and the garden complements the beauty of the house. The house still has its original electric light fittings. The house was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1972.

Exterior of Standen
Interior of Standen

Estate and garden[edit]

The estate was formed from three farms which the Beales had purchased in 1890.

The Beales started planting a 12-acre (49,000 m2) garden almost immediately after they had purchased the land, using the site of an 18th-century garden and orchard. In early 1891 trees were planted, a yew hedge established and the kitchen garden begun.

The Beales consulted a London landscape gardener who drew up a layout that assumed that the new house would be located on the line of the existing terrace. However, Webb suggested that it rather be placed further into the hillside. The proposed planting schemes were characterised by strict geometrical layouts of colourful flowerbeds and shrubs. Webb preferred something else, however: a mixture of natural styles combining old-fashioned formality and compartmentalised gardens. Webb also designed a number of elements in the garden.

The resulting Arts and Crafts garden used local materials for its formal elements and loose plantings amongst yew hedges, trellis and pergolas, emphasising natural colour schemes and subtle combinations of colour and foliage.

Standen Wood[edit]

The National Trust acquired Standen Wood, originally part of the larger estate at the property, in 2001. The wood had been owned and managed as a nature reserve since the 1970s and is a haven for birds.


External links[edit]

Coordinates: 51°06′11″N 0°01′01″W﻿ / ﻿51.1031°N 0.0169°W﻿ / 51.1031; -0.0169