Introduction
Milton's Cottage has a terraced cottage garden of late-19th or early-20th century date. The garden occupies about 0.5 hectare, with an adjacent field of one hectare.
Terrain
The ground slopes gently up to the south.www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list
The late 19th century or early 20th century terraced garden of a timber-framed cottage, with adjacent field, the house of John Milton in 1665, where he completed Paradise Lost and may have begun Paradise Regained.
DESCRIPTION
LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING
Milton's Cottage stands south-west of the centre of the Chiltern village of Chalfont St Giles, on the south side of Dean Way. The c 1.5ha site is bounded to the north by Dean Way, to the south and east by fields, to the north-east by the adjoining Hampden Cottage and its garden, and to the west by C20 houses and their gardens. The ground slopes gently up to the south. The setting is that of a Chiltern village with C20 development close by.
ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES
The garden is entered off Dean Way to the north via a pedestrian gate, several metres west of the Cottage. A short path leads up to the front door on the west front of the Cottage.
PRINCIPAL BUILDING
Milton's Cottage (late C16/early C17, restored C18, listed grade I) occupies the north-east corner of the site and stands adjacent to Dean Way. It is a small, two-storey timber-framed cottage with red-brick infill and a tile roof. A two-storey C18 wing extends south at right angles and outbuildings extend south from the main building. This is the only surviving house in which Milton lived.
GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS
The site is divided into the garden immediately surrounding the cottage, and the paddock to the west and south.
The garden slopes up to the south from the garden gate on the north boundary in a series of low terraced compartments, with the Cottage standing occupying the eastern half of the lowest, north compartment. The terraces dividing the garden are emphasized by trellis and pergola. The southernmost compartment is laid mainly to soft fruit and vegetables on sloping ground. The central area, separating the southernmost compartment from the Cottage, is laid mainly to lawn. The north compartment, to the west of the Cottage, is divided formally between areas of lawn and herbaceous border. A quickset hedge runs along along the west side of garden, with C19 railings on the outer side, dividing the garden from the adjacent paddock. The date of the original garden is uncertain but the present form may date from the late C19. The garden has been energetically restored since 1975 and most flowers and shrubs date from this period.
REFERENCES
P W Phipps, Chalfont St Giles, past and present (1893), pp 45-49
H Allingham, Cottages in England (1923)
Victoria History of the County of Buckinghamshire III, (1925), p 185
C Birch, Chalfont St Giles in Camera (1985), pp 51-52
John Milton's Cottage, guidebook, (Milton's Cottage Trust, nd)
N Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Buckinghamshire (1994 edn), p 217
Maps
OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1883
2nd edition published 1900
3rd edition published 1926
OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1881-1882
2nd edition published 1898
Description written: October 2000
Edited: January 2005
- Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts
Access contact details
Open daily except Mondays between March and October, 10.00am to 1.00pm and 2.00pm to 6.00pm. Large parties and special bookings by arrangement. Please see: http://www.miltonscottage.org/opening-times.htm
Directions
A413 to Chalfont St Giles
Owners
Milton's Cottage Trust
- History
The following is from the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. For the most up-to-date Register entry, please visit the The National Heritage List for England (NHLE):
www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list
HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT
In the spring of 1665 John Milton (1608-1674) moved from Bunhill Fields in London to a cottage at Chalfont St Giles for six months, while the Plague was at its height in London. His friend and pupil Thomas Ellwood had taken the cottage for Milton, who by this time was blind, as a refuge from the Plague. Milton had begun to write his epic poem Paradise Lost in 1642, but had laid it aside to pursue the Parliamentary cause during the Civil War and Protectorate, becoming Latin Secretary to Oliver Cromwell. During his six months at Chalfont St Giles, living in the late 16th century cottage which later came to be known as Milton's Cottage, he completed Paradise Lost and may have begun Paradise Regained. Milton returned to London once the worst of the Plague had died down.
In 1887 the cottage was bought and dedicated to the memory of John Milton. The garden may have been remodelled at this time. The Cottage remains in the hands of the Milton's Cottage Trust and is now (2000) a museum to John Milton.
- Features & Designations
Designations
The National Heritage List for England: Register of Parks and Gardens
- Reference: GD1594
- Grade: II
Style
Cottage Garden
Features
- Garden Terrace
- Cottage (featured building)
- Earliest Date:
- Latest Date:
- Key Information
Type
Garden
Purpose
Ornamental
Principal Building
Domestic / Residential
Survival
Extant
Hectares
1.5
Open to the public
Yes
Civil Parish
Chalfont St.
- References
References
- {English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest} (Swindon: English Heritage 2008) [on CD-ROM] Historic England Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest
- Pevsner, N and Williamson, E {The Buildings of England: Buckinghamshire} (1994) p 217 The Buildings of England: Buckinghamshire