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Osborne House - Isle of Wight

Osborne House and Fountain, Photographer Paul Highnam   Osborne House Parterre  History of gardens
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought Osborne and its estate from Lady Isabella Blachford in 1845. In 1848 the old house was demolished and a new three-storey pavilion with flagtower and main and household wings was built. The 19th century estate eventually totalled over 800 hectares and included numerous cottages and lodges for estate workers and members of the household. Prince Albert's planting scheme was partially dictated by the already well-established late 18th century landscape that surrounded Osborne House. Other influences include his liking for poplars found at his family home of the Rosenau, and for the Italian fashion which he had seen at first hand of lining principal drives and walks with evergreens, such as myrtle and laurel. The walled kitchen-garden and adjoining pleasure grounds in front of the house remained as elements from the late 18th century landscape. The upper and lower terraces, with their ornamental parterres interspersed with statues representing the seasons, were constructed under the supervision of Prince Albert and Ludwig Gruner. The Swiss Cottage Garden laid out in 1853, with furnished cottage, was used by the children to grow and sell vegetables as a practical exercise in market gardening. The garden is following a restoration programme with the aim to present the park and garden landscape as close to the period before Queen Victoria's death as possible.

Osborne Contemporary Heritage Garden  Osborne House is Grade II* on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

Garden highlights

  • The parterre gardens and terraces have all been restored to their Victorian layout and are once again planted in seasonally changing Victorian bedding. These terraces host the many statues which Victoria and Albert bought to decorate these formal areas.
  • Herbaceous borders planted with sub tropical and unusual species very fashionable at the time of Queen Victoria.
  • Pleasure grounds containing mature specimens of unusual trees, many of which were some of the first introductions into Britain planted by dignitaries and royalty in Victorian times.
  • The garden adjoining the Swiss Cottage, developed for Victoria and Albert's children where they could learn the domestic skills of gardening. Vegetables and fruit were grown which were sold to Prince Albert, at commercial rates for use in the house, providing them with a practical exercise in market gardening and commerce. A small thatched summerhouse contains the scaled-down garden tools branded with their owner's initials, which the Royal children used. (Queen Victoria's famous bathing machine can be seen by the public site nearby.)
  • The walled fruit and flower garden has been restored and opened in July 2000 as part of the English Heritage Contemporary Heritage Garden initiative. Designed by Rupert Golby, it represents the dynamic nature of the fruit and flower planting of this important aspect of the Osborne Estate. Features include a variety of Victorian trained fruit trees, expansive cut flower borders and rose and fruit arches.  
  • A circuitous walk, the Ring Walk, has been restored which takes in historic features like the mount, the pond and the restored ice-house.
  • Views to the sea through the restored vista.

Planting in the Contemporary Heritage Garden   Garden Staff at Osborne, Photographer Toby Beasley  Rare and unusual plants
An important visit or special anniversary was sometimes commemorated by planting a memorial tree, of which at least 270 existed throughout the estate. There are many examples of magnificent trees at Osborne including specimens of the Cork Oak, Quercus suber, from the bark of which is commercially harvested in Spain and Portugal for making corks, Cedars of Lebanon, and specimen evergreens. There is also an extensive collection of species and varieties of Ilex (Hollies), the impressive walled trained Magnolia grandiflora and the famous Royal Myrtle Myrtus communis. The herbaceous borders include many unusual Victorian bulbs and plants particular to that period and historic varieties of vegetables and fruit can also be seen.

Wildlife
Osborne is one of only four English Heritage properties with red squirrels and one of only two with dormice. Osborne boasts the presence of ten Red Data Book Species including six fungi, three plants and one fly. There are also seven Nationally Scarce Species on site including four insects, one plant and two lichens. Brown long-eared bats are also known to roost on site.

For more information on endangered wildlife and habitats visit the Environment Agency's Web Page.

View further information on Osborne House visiting times, facilities, entrance prices and directions.

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