Littlebredy Walled Gardens

The Walled Gardens Workshop is based in the beautiful Dorset countryside at Littlebredy, a village of traditional thatched cottages in a secluded, tranquil valley a few miles from the county town of Dorchester.

In Victorian times, the 5-acre gardens at Littlebredy were the 'productive grounds' of Bridehead, which is the mansion at the centre of the ancient Littlebredy estate.

Today, the gardens are looked after through a not-for-profit Community Interest venture. They are located on a warm south-facing slope of the Bride Valley where the little River Bride rises and runs through the grounds.


The Workshop is busy restoring the appearance and function of the historic Walled Garden and environs, with its clear-running stream providing water to the ornamental flower beds, shrubs and roses, vegetable areas, damson orchards and soon a vineyard, all set in the rural Conservation Area in the little Bride Valley with its warm sheltered micro-climate.

The activities are quite varied, from growing vegetables and re-planting and pruning the formal areas, to weed and scrub overgrowth clearance, creating new shrubberies and restoring the appearance of brick and stone walls and paths. The ornamental gardens are open to the public and to schools visits from time to time, which provides an opportunity to explain to interested people what is happening, and also participate in the site management.