Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson at Sissinghurst Castle, Sissinghurst, Kent

In 1930 Vita Sackville-West (1892–1962) and her husband Harold Nicolson (1886–1968) bought Sissinghurst Castle and its extensive surrounding property for £12,375. It was a wreck, with no electricity, tap water, heating or drains. But the couple restored the site remarkably quickly, and as early as 1932 they had achieved a great deal. This was to be their homes for the rest of their lives, and although Vita hated the idea of the castle going to 'Nat Trust or any other foreign body', it was indeed given to The National Trust in 1967, the year before Harold's death, by her younger son Nigel, who had inherited the property and had no option but to get rid of it – and preserve it at the same time – in order to avoid heavy death duties.

The sixteenth century entrance arch, seen here from the top of the Tower, was probably built by Sir Richard Baker.

The Library at the north end of the front range also served as a sitting room, and Vita called it the Big Room. It is redolent of Knole, Vita's birthplace which she didn't inherit, but appears to reflect a sense of continuity.

The painting of a very young Vita, now above the fireplace in the Library, was never there in her lifetime because she hated it. Philip de Laszlo is the painter.

Richard Baker, who was Sir John's wildly ostentatious son, urged Queen Elizabeth I to come to Sissinghurst, which she did for a few days, and knighted him a few days later. All a world away from Vita and Harold's lives, of course.

'Here lived

V. SACKVILLE-WEST

who made this garden

Born at Knole 9 March 1892

Died at Sissinghurst 2 June 1962'

Harold Nicolson of course also played no small part in the gardens. Photography (very oddly now that the NT seems to have relented on many (off-flash) photos) is not allowed within the tower, where there is the famous painting of Vita's great lover Violet Trefusis, and a reproduction of the poem 'Sissinghurst', which Harold thought was her best, and which Vita dedicated to her former lover Virginia Woolf.

One of the two tower peaks.

A partial view of the gardens as seen from the tower.

The Priest's House.

South Cottage, with the Tower in the background.

The Gazebo, used by Nigel Nicolson to write in and as a memorial.

'This

pavilion was

built in 1969 by

his sons in memory of

HAROLD NICOLSON

author, diplomatist and

Member of Parliament:

Sissinghurst was his

home from 1930

until his death

in 1968.'

The boathouse was also an idea Nigle Nicolson's, and was built in 2002.

The oast houses within the grounds, just outside the main centre of interest.

My other Nicolson-related post

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Nicolsons in Sissinghurst Cemetery

Nicolsons in Sissinghurst Cemetery, Kent

Sissinghurst Cemetery isn't obviously locatable: it's very near to the parish church, but not reachable from it, and there's no sign to it. Unfortunately, these photos were taken before midday and the blotches on them get increasingly worse because of the shadows from the overlooking trees.

'HAROLD

NICOLSON

1886–1968'

This image of the grave of Harold Nicolson might be thought to need no comment on the man: he was famous for being the husband of Vita Sackville-West, for their joint work on Sissinghurst Castle and gardens, and of course for his open homosexual relationships, as was his author (and gardener) wife. The fact that he was a diplomat and very prolific author himself often gets forgotten. Nevertheless, Harold wrote a large number of books, several of them on writers such as Tennyson, Byron, Swinburne, Benjamin Constant, and Sainte-Beuve. He also wrote books on English diplomacy.

'BENEDICT

NICOLSON

1914–1978'

Benedict was Harold and Vita's first son. He became an art historian, and his published works include The Painters of Ferrara (1950), Hendrick Terbrugghen (1958), Wright of Derby: Painter of Light (1968), The Treasures of the Foundling Hospital (1972), Courbet: The Studio of the Painter (1973), and Georges de La Tour (1974).

'NIGEL

NICOLSON

1917–2004'

Nigel was the younger son and went on to be an author, publisher and politician. His books are many and include works on such authors as Virginia Woolf, Fanny Burney, and Jane Austen; one on his parents' marriage; and editing Woolf's letters in six volumes, as well as (one volume of) his parents' letters. As a publisher he co-founded Weinenfeld and Nicolson, which was the cause of the failure of his (slightly wet Conservative) political career when the house published Nabokov's controversial Lolita in 1959.

My other Nicolson-related post:

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Nicolson (and Vita) in Sissinghurst