Gate - Emmetts Garden, Kent.

Today, a visit to Emmetts Garden and my passion for gates got the better of me!

Please view LARGE

Emmetts Garden was open farmland until 1860 when the present house was built. The name 'emmett' is a local word for ant and refers to the giant anthills that covered the area until the 1950s. The gardens were initially laid out between 1893 and 1895. In 1927 the estate was acquired by an American geologist Charles Watson Boise. He made various alterations to both house and garden but retained the original character of the gardens.

In 1964 Charles Boise bequeathed Emmetts to the National Trust. Although the Trust has sought to maintain its botanical diversity, many of the old trees and shrubs were brought down in the Great Storm of 1987. However, this had the benefit of bringing more light to the gardens and a sympathetic replanting programme has since been maintained.