Our conservation work projects at Standen

Conservation in the house

Back in 1894, the Beale family employed an army of servants, with generations of housemaids looking after the house in the decades to come. Today, we have a much smaller team of staff and volunteers who care for the house and collection.

We used to put the house to bed at the end of October for a deep clean and condition check that would take place over the winter. Today we carry out conservation all year round.

Conserving the Morris & Co. carpet

There are a number of coverings that we use to protect the precious floor from the thousands of feet that walk through the house each year. None are more important than the huge Morris & Co. carpet in the Drawing Room. Designed by J.H. Dearle, Morris & Co.’s chief designer, and made at the Merton Abbey Mills, it is a spectacular carpet and in very good condition for its age.

Finding a solution

After covering it with a temporary carpeted walkway for a number of years, the decision was made to have an Eyemat floor covering printed. An Eyemat is a very detailed set of digital photographs printed on mats and stitched together to recreate the floor underneath. In this way, the design and décor of the room is complete, as it was when the Beale family lived here, but the carpet itself is protected.

So, what you are walking on is exactly the same as what is underneath the protective flooring – if you don’t look too closely you might think that you are walking on the carpet itself.

Conservation in the Garden and Estate

From yearly coppicing and land management to a five-year project to restore the gardens at Standen, our team of gardeners and rangers have been hard at work restoring the garden and estate to its original glory.

Path improvements, summer 2023

This summer, our rangers are improving paths through Hollybush Wood by adding local sandstone and ironstone to the trail. This will mean that, come winter, the ground will be more stable and the paths less muddy and more accessbile. During this time, access may be restricted to allow works to be carried out safely, so please be aware that some footpaths might be closed when you visit.

Restoring an Arts and Crafts garden

A five-year restoration project on the historically important Arts and Crafts garden at Standen was completed in 2017. The restoration project was designed to bring back to life a series of outdoor rooms created by Margaret Beale, who was an accomplished gardener and plants-woman. These areas included a scented rose garden – the Rosery – and a lime tree walk, along with more exotic areas with bamboo, ponds and lush foliage.

What was restored?

Following extensive research, the Garden Revival project began in 2012 and is one of the biggest undertaken in the National Trust. The scope of the project was wide-reaching and included:

• The restoration of the original swimming pond and rose garden growing Margaret Beale’s coveted China pink roses.
• The creation of a fine oak trellis rebuilt to the original design by Philip Webb. The trellis is a feature in one of Arts and Crafts designer William Morris’s wallpaper designs which is used in the house.
• Lime trees reinstated along Grandfather’s Walk.
• The introduction of 10,000 extra tulips, including rare varieties.
• The restoration of the kitchen garden and the original espaliered apple trees.
• New views opened from the top terrace across to the Ashdown Forest.
• New Arts and Crafts inspired planting in the house courtyard.
• The medieval quarry face revealed alongside the drive, which inspired the Beales to build Standen in this location.

Highlights from the garden restoration

Kitchen Garden

The reinstatement of the Kitchen Garden saw the installation of large beds of fruits and vegetables, plus cages for delicate soft fruits. Four particularly endearing Bramley apple espalier trees, planted when the house was built in the 1890s, remain and still provide a plentiful crop every autumn. Bees have been re-introduced to the Orchard and the Kitchen Garden.