Garden and Garage

No stately home would be complete without a garage to keep a fleet of cars as well as a perfectly landscaped English garden.

On the west side of the house is a five-bay garage. All great British manufacturers of the day are represented – Daimler, Lanchester, Rolls-Royce, Sunbeam and Vauxhall. Each firm provided custom built models in the royal motor colours of maroon and black embossed with either a coat of arms or royal cipher. From 1900 to 1943, royal cars were made by Daimler, a tradition instigated by Edward VII. Queen Elizabeth II official cars were all made by Rolls-Royce.

On the east side of the house is a garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll, one of the most influential garden designers of the day. Jekyll collaborated with Lutyens on many of the gardens for his houses. She also contributed an aptly named book in miniature for the Dolls' House Library, The Garden. Each flower and tree is exactly to scale, botanically correct and based on studies at Kew Gardens. Attention to detail is flawless; each leaf on each tree was shaped by hand.

Explore some of the miniature objects below: