Winterbourne House (also known as Silverhill School)

The grounds of Winterbourne House occupy four hectares on a roughly rectangular and flat site. The site is entered from the north. The house is located close to the stone wall on the north of the site, which carries on to enclose the whole garden. The old drive, which entered the site from a gate in the south wall of the garden, is now blocked up. The drive has been extended to run along the south wall, and provides an entrance from the east. The drive is flanked with mixed tree plantings, including sweet chestnut, ash, sycamore and others.

There is a small lawn to the south of the house, which is bordered by a ha-ha. Beyond this is a small park, now used as a playing field. A large shrubbery runs along the south wall of the garden, but this is now rather neglected. A prospect mound has been built against the south wall to provide views over the surrounding countryside. There is a small duck pond fed by a natural spring to the east of the house and a kitchen garden to the west.

The garden of Winterbourne House has been greatly altered in recent years. The use of the house and grounds as the site for a school has resulted in the construction of many new buildings, and the small park has been turned into a playing field. The kitchen garden has been grassed over and a house for the headmaster constructed there. Several elm trees lining the old drive have been lost due to Dutch Elm disease.

The remaining areas of the garden are maintained by two gardeners, and are kept in good order. There have been considerable new plantings of young trees and shrubs, particularly along the old drive, in recent years.