Reinventing heritage: Sussex estate secures more than £2m to boost access

An estate with a rich botanical heritage has secured more than £2m to connect new and diverse audiences with the restorative power of nature.

Borde Hill, in West Sussex, aims to reinvent its heritage-listed South Park as a thriving destination for the 21st century while honouring and celebrating its nationally important collection of 8,000 plants – some rare and endangered – as well as its trees and archive of 75,000 records, which span centuries.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded Borde Hill Garden Charity a £2.25m grant for a project that will inspire future generations through outdoor learning.

The scheme proposes to open up 110 acres of parkland, lakes, grassland and ancient woodland to the public. Key elements include a cycle and pedestrian route that will provide car-free access from Haywards Heath and its train station, and an eco lodge on the edge of Robertsmere Lake that will serve as a visitor and community hub.

Other elements include the reinvention of the ‘Dinosaur Wood’ as a space for discovery, play and exploration for children, a Growers’ Community Garden, highlighting the importance of locally grown produce and good horticultural practice, and the Propagation Project, which will safeguard the plant collection for generations to come.

It’s a plan that Estate Managing Director Jay Goddard is passionate about, tying together the key pillars of community, wellbeing and outdoor learning.

Jay, who grew up on the 2,300-acre estate and returned home in 2023 to run it following a career in PR working for brands including Nike and Apple, says: “We need to plan in decades, not years, and this project is very exciting and important for the long-term.

"We have a deep connection to nature here, and this represents our next step celebrating the past and planning for the future.

“It’s very community-focused – we’ve engaged with more than 1,000 local groups and charities to understand how new and diverse audiences can reach us, and what they want and need.

“Being outside in nature is so important. We’ve already run pilot schemes working with the NHS for patients to have therapy sessions here, and it’s brilliant to hear the feedback and see the results. People let down their barriers more and it really makes a difference.

“The project will help formalise things we’re already doing, but for far bigger audiences.”

The estate has ambitious targets, aiming to double visitor numbers to 130,000 a year in its first two years. It aims to raise a further £1m and grow its team, adding four members of staff and tripling its volunteer pool to 60 people.

Jay is exploring the concept of a ‘community card’ plan that will provide schools and charities with free access via an annual membership. It is hoped that South Park will become a year-round destination: “The goal is to become part of people’s lives – hosting walks, meets and school lessons in the woodland. The lodge will have a yoga and wellbeing studio.

“It’s for all ages, from children to later life. If you can inspire young people it’s far more likely to stay with them throughout their lives.”

The estate has four farms, with a mixed farming approach of livestock, arable and woodland management. Three are tenanted, and the fourth, Sugworth Farm, has been turned into a market garden and a 40-acre biodynamic farm, which takes a nature-led approach to growing fruit and vegetables.

Jay says: “We want it to be for everyone, with different height beds, and to grow world foods – food is a common language and can bring people together.”

Borde Hill has an impressive botanical history. Plants have been a part of its DNA since 1598 when Stephen Borde, the grandson of Henry VIII’s private herbalist and physician Andrew Borde, rebuilt the Elizabethan mansion house at the core of the estate. He wrote one of the first books about medicinal plants in 1542, and the herbs and plants used to treat the King are celebrated through ornate plasterwork from 1601, which is still in the house to this day.

Centuries later, Jay’s great-great-grandfather Colonel Stephenson R Clarke bought the estate in 1893 and was responsible for creating its garden and plant collection. A horticultural pioneer, he sponsored plant-hunting trips around the world, including to Japan, China, Burma, Tasmania and the Andes.

The result is one of the UK’s rarest collections of privately owned champion trees, along with plants from all corners of the world. Borde Hill opened to the public in the 1960s and is series of outdoor ‘garden rooms’, with highlights including the Azalea Ring, Italian Garden and Rose Garden.

It has more than 180 different magnolia varieties, with some earning ‘champion’ status for their size. Last summer the estate hosted the inaugural Borde Hill Garden Festival, and there are plans for another event in 2026.

Jay, who is the fifth generation of her family to run the estate, says: “One of the biggest joys is learning about the collection, it’s a fascinating world to deep dive into. I like being hands-on and spend time in the garden with the team, learning about their work and the collection.”

She credits the wider team as one of the driving forces behind the estate’s work and success. “They are so passionate and we’re all going on this journey together.”