Mount Ephraim

Despite later extensive redevelopment of the garden during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some earlier features are still extant. Most prominent of these is the double-curved ha-ha (itself a listed building). This runs in a line approximately north-east/south-west past both the house and lake.

The main task of Mrs M N Dawes, the present owner, has been to renovate these gardens as far as possible, and maintain them with far fewer staff and resources. The rock garden was completely overgrown ten years ago but has now been successfully reclaimed. The remarkable topiary of 1914-1918 war period is in very good order.

A full tree survey is proposed by Mrs Dawes. Of especial note are oriental plane, holm oaks, sweet chestnuts, beeches, oaks and a range of exotic conifers. These may be over 100 years old. There are a number of fine maples, mainly seedlings, and a variety of Japanese maples (Acer palmatum).

The gardens continue to develop. A water garden is a new feature. The October 1987 storm damage was comparatively slight. A vineyard and orchard walk have now been included. Restoration work was begun in 1994 with the help of Kent County Council and the Kent Gardens Trust on some of the built features.

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

A country house surrounded by terraced gardens, including a large rockery, laid out in the early 20th century and set in a small, mid-19th-century park.

DESCRIPTION

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

Mount Ephraim is located on the north side of the A2, Sittingbourne to Canterbury road, c 5km to the east of Faversham. It occupies a rural setting between the villages of Dunkirk, Boughton Street, and Hernhill. The c 13ha site is bounded to the south-west by Staplestreet Road and by farmland and woodland on all other boundaries. The land falls away from the house, which is situated in the western corner of the site, to the north-north-east in the direction of the sea, which can be seen from the gardens c 6km beyond the northern boundary.

ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES

A short drive leads north-north-east from Staplestreet Road along the western boundary, its entrance to the site marked by a pair of C19 wrought-iron gates and late C17 supporting brick walls (listed grade II). The drive forks after the gate piers, the eastern fork leading to the gravel entrance court below the north-west front of the house. The northern fork of the drive leads first to the early C20 stable block c 120m to the north-north-west of the house, and then continues to link with the lodge on Church Hill (both outside the area here registered).

PRINCIPAL BUILDING

Mount Ephraim (listed grade II) is a country house built of red brick under a slate roof in an irregular plan. It is constructed in two storeys with a rectangular main block and service wings to the south-west. The entrance is on the north-west front which carries a central leaded cupola. The house was rebuilt c 1880 for the Dawes family, on the site of a house built for them in 1695. It was extended by William Charles Dawes in 1913.

GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS

To the north-west of the house, a secondary drive from the stables to the house runs along the north side of a wall which encloses an area of lawn, shrubs, and topiary first planted in the late C19. The south side of the wall has a herbaceous border along its length. A small summerhouse stands at the north-west end of the garden, overlooking a recently planted (2001) formal planting. The southern boundary of the north-west garden is formed by the main drive to the house forecourt.

A series of four partly balustraded terraces descend the gentle slope to the north-east of the house, towards the late C19 lake located c 200m from the house. Each terrace is subdivided into areas at different levels. The top terrace is laid to grass planted with larger trees and has a central fountain. From the house steps descend to the first area (the Rose Terrace) which has small rose beds set in grass, surrounded by yew hedges. Below this lies another grass level, though there are traces in it of cross-paths coupled with small-scale terracing. The third terrace is also laid to grass, with a hard tennis court located at its south-east end. The terrace is reached via a set of gates hung on tall, red-brick gate piers surmounted by ball finials. The lowest terrace is laid to grass planted with larger trees and has a central flight of steps leading down to the edge of the lake, on the north-east bank of which is Mount Ephraim Wood, underplanted with rhododendrons and azaleas. In the late C20, the piped water leading from the lower end of the lake was opened up to form a stream and its banks were planted as a water garden. To the west of the terraces is a rock garden laid out in the Japanese style, reputedly by the firm of Waterer's in c 1912, while to the south-east lies a vineyard reached via the early C20 Motto Gate. The present gardens were laid out mainly by William Charles Dawes in the early C20.

Below the south-east front is a large area of lawn set with a circular fountain close to its south-east boundary. Some 50m to the south-east of the house, beyond the fountain, is an C18 brick ha-ha (listed grade II) which divides the gardens from the park.

PARK

The park was formed during the second half of the C19 by the planting of occasional exotic specimens in the field beyond the south-east lawn and in the field to the north of the house, on the east side of the drive to Church Hill. The south-east field is now (2001) mainly open grass, with a small pavilion standing on its south-east boundary. Mature trees are confined to the southern corner of the area.

REFERENCES

E Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent (1797-1801) [Facsimile edition 1972]

Inspector's Report: Mount Ephraim, (English Heritage 1988)

Maps

OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1870; 2nd edition 1898

Description rewritten: March 2001

Amended: November 2001

Edited: November 2003