Ernest Wilson Memorial Garden

About

Walk through the gate in the high stone wall and you seem to enter a secret garden, a haven of tranquillity in the heart of Chipping Campden.The garden is a memorial to Ernest Henry ('Chinese') Wilson, one of the great plant hunters and collectors of the early 20th century. 

'Chinese' Wilson (1876 - 1930) was born in Chipping Campden and in 1980 the town acquired the lower part of the Old Vicarage Garden, which fronts on to the main street with the majestic tower of St James's Church to the rear.

The garden, opened in 1984, was laid out after a design by the landscape architect, Sir Peter Shepheard, with plants selected from the 1,200 or so that Wilson had introduced.

The garden is open every day, free of charge, but there is a collecting box in the wall for visitors to contribute towards the upkeep of the garden.