Great Maytham Hall December 2003 the Country Houses Association announced that it was closing down its residential business and selling the eight Grade I and II listed buildings it owned. The walled garden of Great Maytham Hall provided the inspiration for one of the most famous of all books for children, "The Secret Garden". Its author, Frances Hodgson Burnett, lived at Great Maytham Hall from 1898 to 1907, where she found the old walled garden dating from 1721 sadly overgrown and neglected. Aided by a robin, Burnett discovered the door hidden amongst the ivy, and began the restoration of the garden, which she
Frances Hodgson Burnett she continued annual transatlantic trips to the United States. Maytham Hall resembled a feudal manor house which enchanted Burnett. She socialized in the local villages, and enjoyed the country life. She filled the house with guests, and had Stephen Townsend move in with her, which the local vicar considered a scandal. In February 1900 she married Stephen Townsend. The marriage took place in Genoa, Italy, and the couple went to Pegli for their honeymoon, where they endured two weeks of steady rain. Burnett's biographer Gretchen Gerzina writes of the marriage, "it was the biggest mistake of her life". The press