Fill in for missing December shots. These are a few shots of the image garden which is in the village of Reagill. It is not open to the public so I had to take these over the wall and unfortunately for some the light was wrong. The gardens were originally built by Thomas Bland, a man of varied talents, who was a skilled artist and sculptor and reputed to be a musical composer of merit. Thomas Bland is actually an ancestor of my husbands.
During the reign of Queen Victoria, “A festival of somewhat unique character was held annually, on the anniversary of Her Majesty’s accession, on the grounds of Mr. Bland, which are richly ornamented with pictures, statuary etc.
In the year 2000 the property where the garden is, was to be put up for sale and the 67 statues, some of which date back 150 years were to be sold off individually. This would have meant the fascinating collection, crafted by 19th Century sculptor Thomas Bland, being disbanded and possibly scattered across the world.
In August, only days before the scheduled auction, Eden Council served notice that the grounds and statues were protected, with Culture Secretary Chris Smith having declared them grade two listed.
The house, buildings and farm attached to the gardens were later sold off as a whole and the new owner has put the gardens, as well as he could, to how they were. Many of the statues were badly damaged because the previous owners grazed cattle and sheep in the area without protecting the statues.
