Columbine Hall, Stowupland, Stowmarket, IP14 4AT

The SGT AGM will take place in The Barn at 2pm.
This will be followed by a visit to the Columbine Hall Gardens for all those who have purchased a ticket
This moated manor house (Grade II*) takes its name, not from the flower, but from
a family of medieval barons from Columbières (ie ‘dovecotes’) in Normandy, who
owned it down to 1317. Rising dramatically from the water of the moat is a
gatehouse range of c.1400 that was built by their successors, the Hotot family.
After a long period as a farmhouse, it was bought in 1993 by Hew Stevenson and
the late Leslie Geddes-Brown (gardens editor for Country Life and author of
numerous books on gardens), who both restored the house and developed the
magnificent gardens, employing the Chelsea gold medallist, George Carter, to
design the formal garden which stands on the one-acre island. High hornbeam and
yew hedges divide the area into separate lawn spaces with eight formal flower
beds and a herb garden. Vistas across the moat embrace the parkland and distant
views of the countryside beyond Suffolk Gardens Trust Newsletter 61 Spring 2026 25
numerous books on gardens), who both restored the house and developed the
magnificent gardens, employing the Chelsea gold medallist, George Carter, to
design the formal garden which stands on the one-acre island. High hornbeam and
yew hedges divide the area into separate lawn spaces with eight formal flower
beds and a herb garden. Vistas across the moat embrace the parkland and distant
views of the countryside beyond.
Beyond the moated area, the mood is natural and understated. Cow parsley is
allowed to run riot on the moat banks, and there is a bog garden with a stream
and waterfall, a series of ponds and orchards, a grassy walk through woodland,
and the Moat Walk from which the Hall is seen reflected. One of the highlights is
the formal vegetable garden adjoining an 18th-century timber-framed barn. It was
created on the site of a partially demolished modern farm building whose brick
walls were left standing to enclose a walled garden.
A new walled flower garden has recently been created and a new bridge built
across the moat. Head gardener Kate Elliott gave a fascinating talk to the SGT in
February about her time spent lovingly developing the garden with the owners.