Lutyens and Great Dixter
A long-awaited visit to Great Dixter
I first visited Great Dixter house and garden in late October 2024. It had been on my wish list for years but it’s in a part of the country I simply didn’t visit (Sussex). I went for the famous Christopher Lloyd garden, but what I hadn’t expected was the absolutely incredible 15th century hall house. Nathaniel and Daisy Lloyd bought the house in the early 20th century and made it their home for themselves and their six children. Daisy continued to live there for the rest of her life, dying in her 90s. Youngest child Christopher (Christo) also lived there for almost all of his life and between them they developed the garden into one of international renown.
The Medieval Hall House: a hidden gem
When the Lloyds bought the house it was severely run-down and hardly recognisable for what it was. In the Middle Ages, a typical wealthy yeoman’s house would have a great hall, a parlour beyond with a solar above that as the private space of the family. Servants and workers would eat, sleep and work in the hall. A great example of this can be seen at the Weald & Downland Museum in West Sussex. Here you can see a central hearth in the hall, with the smoke from the fire rising up to escape through the thatch or through small ‘windows’ high up at the eaves. If there was a kitchen for the house it was in a separate building.
By the Elizabethan period, Great Dixter’s large hall had been divided into at least four rooms, with a fireplace in the middle and an upper floor inserted. Many of its original features had been covered up, and over time, the house became quite dilapidated.
The Lloyd family and the restoration of Dixter
Nathaniel Lloyd, however, was an architect with an eye for hidden potential. He could see past the decay to what the house had once been—and what it could be again. He had both the knowledge and the financial means to undertake a significant restoration, having made his fortune in printing before retiring in his 40s to study architecture.
In 1910, Lloyd bought Great Dixter and spent the next two years transforming it into a family home. He had the good fortune to engage Edwin Lutyens, one of the most sought-after architects of the time, to help with the project. The two men shared a vision: to restore the medieval hall to its former glory while sympathetically extending the house to accommodate a large family and their staff.
The result was a remarkable composition of three distinct parts: the medieval hall house, a newly designed Lutyens extension, and a 16th-century timber-framed house that Lloyd had transported from Benenden. The latter had been earmarked for demolition, but when Lloyd visited intending to purchase a few architectural pieces, he ended up buying the entire house. It was carefully dismantled, moved to Dixter, and reassembled behind the main house, connected by the new Lutyens wing.
First impressions: a house full of character
When I visited in the autumn, I was completely bowled over by the main house. It far exceeded my expectations, even though only three rooms were open to the public—the hall, parlour, and solar. The attention to detail in every aspect of the house was extraordinary.
Despite its age, it was not a museum piece but a lived-in, much-loved home. Christopher Lloyd had put his own stamp on it, commissioning modern furniture by Rupert Williamson, which sits comfortably alongside Georgian and older oak pieces. His father, Nathaniel, was also an accomplished furniture maker, crafting dark oak tables and other items that blend seamlessly with the historic surroundings.
A rare glimpse: the private tour
On a normal tour, the Lutyens wing isn’t accessible, as it is often used by students from around the world who come to study under Head Gardener Fergus Garrett and his team. However, a few times a year, the house opens for special small-group tours. After my first visit, I signed up for the newsletter and eagerly watched for one of these opportunities.
A few months later, I was able to return for a private tour while the house was closed to the public. After the tour, we were free to wander the gardens at leisure, though we didn’t see the parlour or solar this time—a potential disappointment for those who hadn’t been before.
Masterful design: the blending of old and new
We began in the main hall, where a fantastic model of the house helps visitors understand its sprawling layout. From there, we moved through the rooms of the Lutyens extension, guided by an excellent historian who shared stories of the family and the architectural details.
Despite being just over a century old, the Lutyens wing feels much older. In restoring the medieval great hall, Lutyens removed all the Elizabethan additions—but he didn’t discard them. Instead, he repurposed them in his extension, so the rooms are filled with 16th-century timbers and fireplaces, making it difficult to distinguish old from new.
Lutyens was meticulous about external symmetry, ensuring that windows lined up perfectly from the outside, even if this meant compromising on interior practicality. Yet despite the small windows, designed to match the medieval aesthetic, the house felt remarkably light, even on a dull January day. The leaded glass was a delight, with beautifully intricate yet simple ironwork.
A home, not a museum
Throughout the house, practical and decorative elements merge effortlessly. Christopher Lloyd’s seed-drying windowsill remains, jam jars still hold ‘things of interest,’ and a wooden chest is topped with jugs and vases for flower arranging. Even raffia place mats, carefully arranged on a table, become an artful display.
Upstairs, the nursery doubled as the nanny’s bedroom, shared with the baby—a surprisingly compact space for such a large house. One of Lutyens’ whimsical ‘crawler windows’ allowed children to peer outside at floor level, an idea that wouldn’t pass modern safety standards!
Everywhere, old and new blended together seamlessly, a testament to Lutyens’ mastery of marrying different periods into a single harmonious space.
The heart of the house: the kitchen and final thoughts
Our final stop was the kitchen, a wonderfully practical space where every utensil, pot, and dish was out on display. This was not a minimalist’s kitchen—no pristine worktops or hidden storage. Instead, it was a room built for cooking, gathering, and conversation. You could almost hear the echoes of past mealtimes and family discussions.
As we sat with coffee in hand, chatting about what we’d seen, I reflected on what made this house so special. It was not just a beautiful old building but a home shaped by generations—each leaving their mark while respecting what came before.
I can’t wait to return in the summer to enjoy the garden at its peak, knowing that, much like the house, it will be a perfect balance of tradition and innovation.
The photos are mostly from my October trip with a few from this one in January. I haven’t included any of the inside - you will just have to go and visit yourself!
