Map of Marks Hall

The Visitor Centre

The Visitor Centre is in a C15th barn, that originally stood about a mile away on Bouchiers Grange Farm. It was dismantled timber by timber and re-erected on this site in 1991. The barn contains some useful features including the mullioned 'wind-eyes' in each gable. The carved numerals used to assist the original builders can still be seen on the inside of the timber frame.

The Iron Bridge

The Iron Bridge was built at the turn of the C18th, probably by Sir Filmar Honywood, who carried out a lot of work in the gardens. It spans Robins Brook (a tributary of the River Blackwater) and was extensively renovated in 1992 with new cast iron work form a local foundry used to replace missing sections.

Pound Field

After the Second World War much of the parkland at Marks Hall was ploughed up for arable farming. Several acres have now been returned to parkland and the tree planting includes oak, sweet chestnut and some black poplar. These areas will form an attractive back drop to the more unusual plantings within the developing Arboretum. Pound Field is managed for its wild flowers and in particular cow slips. The lower part of the field is mown short in summer and is ideal for picnics.

Marks Hall Mansion

Marks Hall Mansion stood on this site until 1950. The original Tudor building was greatly altered in about 1609 by Robert Honywood who built a new front to the mansion in brick and stone in the Jacobean style of the time. After the war the house became run down and derelict and permission was obtained for its demolition. Now only the cellars remain hidden under the grass. The position of the front door is marked by a stone. The remaining buildings are the coachman’s cottage, the barns form the home farm and the two coach houses, one dating from the C18th. This originally had room for twelve horses and four carriages. Derelict in the 1970s the Couch House now has a new lease of life as it is available to hire for private functions and hosts many summer wedding receptions.

Site of St Margaret’s Church

A small medieval church on this site was replaced in the mid-C18th by a hexagonal building, the form of which can still be seen in the white bricks within the footings. In the mid-C19th the church was extensively altered and extended and this work included an enlarged chancel and nave. When the parishes of Marks Hall and Coggeshall were amalgamated in the 1920s, the church became redundant and was demolished in 1933.

The Honywood Oak

This majestic veteran oak is thought to be over 800 years old. It was one of the many huge oaks that grew in the 130 acre deer park and had been pollarded during its early lifetime resulting in its substantial 27 foot girth. It is often said that an oak grows for 300 years, is mature for another 300 years and then takes 300 years to die. Our tree is certainly in the last stage of its long life. It is gradually reducing its enormous crown and ‘growing down’ to a more manageable size for its old age. It continues to play host to a vast range of wildlife having witnessed monumental changes in its long life.

The Lakes

There is a local legend that the lakes were dug by Cromwellian troops billeted in the ground of Marks Hall at the time of the siege of Colchester in 1648. Originally there were a series of three and these have since been modified to form the two lakes with the brickwork dams and cascades that you see today. The lakes once contained a large stock of fresh water mussels and although these have gone, there is still a healthy population of coarse fish. It is also a ‘spring flower area’ with snowdrops, species daffodils, cowslips and other wild flowers.

The Walled Garden

The Walled Garden covers two acres and was built in the C18th. It is unusual in that it is open to the lake on one side. Once completely overgrown and neglected the Trust decided to mark the 100th anniversary of Mr. Phillps Price’s acquisition of Marks Hall by creating a contemporary series of gardens to make this the summer focal point of the Arboretum. The magnificent double border is nearly 450 feet long and the five terraced gardens are designed to appeal to all ages with vibrant planting, which provides a procession of colour throughout the summer. The Duchess of Devonshire officially opened the Walled Garden on 1st July 2003.

The Birkett Long Millennium Walk

The Millennium Walk is designed to provide autumn and winter colour. Careful positioning of the plants maximises the potential for stunning reflections in the upper lake. Its period of display really starts in September as leaves colour red and gold. In late winter early flowering shrubs fill the air with scent followed by the native woodland flora of primroses, violets and bluebells.

The Taxodium Swamp

Inspired by the Florida Everglades, this area is kept deliberately wet with a seasonally fluctuating water table thereby creating ideal conditions for the swamp cypress (Taxodium distichum). A deciduous conifer, this graceful tree produces curious ‘knees’ that stick out of the waterlogged soil. Although our trees are still young these are already starting to form. The pond fills in the winter and then dries out slowly through the year providing a perfect habitat for newts, frogs and toads. It is also a very good pond for dragonflies, including the rare Hairy Dragonfly.

Robins Grove

This charming piece of woodland is one of the best areas to see the varied birdlife in the Arboretum. The mix of trees provides food, shelter and good nesting sites. Look out for woodpeckers and tree creepers or a flash of blue as the kingfisher flies up the brook. In February the wood is carpeted with snowdrops, mostly doubles (Galanthus ‘flora plena’), followed by clumps of narcissi.

Memorial Site

Covering about 5 acres this area is laid out with grass paths imitating the arrangement of the wartime runways of Earls Colne Airfield. It is a 1/10th scale layout and has been dedicated by the Trustees to the memory of all the servicemen who flew from here from 1942 - 1945. The obelisk is a dedicated war memorial and is used by the Glider Pilot Regimental Association for remembrance of Operation Varsity, the airborne crossing of the Rhine in 1945. A service is held on the site every 24th March.

The Avenue

This avenue is over ¾ mile long and probably once formed the main entrance to the Estate and approach to the mansion. The trees were originally all oaks, although the southern portion was replanted by Thomas Phillips Price in the early 1900s. Hurricane damage in 1987 lead to further replanting of small-leafed lime in 1990. The oaks remaining in the northern part of he avenue are over 200 years old, and included here are several specimens of wild service tree (Sorbus torminalis).

Gondwanaland

Gondwanaland was the ancient super continent, which split apart to form Australia, Antarctica, New Zealand, South Africa and South America. This area contains trees and plants from across the Southern Hemisphere renewing their old acquaintances. Trees like eucalyptus, which fill the air with the scent of their oils and characteristic rustling leaves and ancients like the monkey puzzle (Araucaria araucana), which developed its curious structure as a means to stop being eaten by dinosaurs.