Lost Gardens of Heligan Facts for Kids

The Lost Gardens of Heligan are famous gardens located near Mevagissey in Cornwall, England. They are known as some of the most popular gardens in the United Kingdom. These gardens show a style from the 1800s, with different areas designed in unique ways.

The Jungle

The Italian Garden

Vegetable Garden apple arches

Flora's Green rhododendron tree

Charcoal kiln in the Lost Valley

The Walled Garden

Rhododendron in the Jungle

The Northern Summerhouse

The Georgian Ride

The Tremayne family of Cornwall created these gardens from the mid-1700s to the early 1900s. They are still part of the family's Heligan estate. After World War I, the gardens were forgotten and became overgrown. They were brought back to life in the 1990s. This amazing restoration was shown in popular TV shows and books.

The gardens feature huge rhododendron and camellia plants. There are also lakes fed by a special pump called a hydraulic ram pump, which is over 100 years old. You can find beautiful flower and vegetable gardens, an Italian garden, and a wild area called "The Jungle" with subtropical tree ferns. Heligan also has Europe's only working pineapple pit, warmed by natural compost. Look out for two cool figures made from rocks and plants: the Mud Maid and the Giant's Head!

The name "Heligan" comes from the Cornish word helygen, which means "willow tree".

Exploring Heligan's Location
The History of Heligan Gardens
Images for kids
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Exploring Heligan's Location

The Lost Gardens of Heligan completely surround Heligan House and its private gardens. They are about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of the fishing village of Mevagissey. The gardens sit about 250 feet (76 m) above the village. You can reach the gardens by road from the town of St Austell, which is about 6 miles (9.7 km) away. Most of the gardens are in the area of St Ewe, but some parts are in Mevagissey.

The northern part of the gardens, where the main flower and vegetable gardens are, is slightly higher than the house. It gently slopes down towards it. The areas to the west, south, and east of the house slope steeply into valleys. These valleys eventually lead to the sea at Mevagissey. These wilder areas include "The Jungle" and the "Lost Valley".

The History of Heligan Gardens

The Tremayne family bought the Heligan estate in the 1500s. Earlier members of the family built Heligan House and the private gardens around it.

However, the large gardens you can visit today were mostly created by four members of the Tremayne family. These were:

Henry Hawkins Tremayne
John Hearle Tremayne
John Tremayne
John Claude Lewis Tremayne, also known as "Jack"

Old maps from 1777 and before 1810 show how the estate changed under Henry Hawkins' ownership. The first map shows mostly open land, with the area of today's Northern Gardens being a field. The second map shows new tree lines around the gardens. You can also see the main shapes of the Northern Gardens, the Mellon Yard, and the Flower Garden.

Each of Henry Hawkins' family members added important features to the gardens. They planted beautiful trees along the Long Drive and created "The Jungle". They also grew new types of rhododendrons around Flora's Green and built the Italian Garden.

Before World War I, 22 gardeners worked to keep the gardens beautiful. But the war caused the deaths of 16 of these gardeners. By 1916, only eight men were left to care for the gardens. In the 1920s, Jack Tremayne, who loved Italy, moved there permanently and rented out Heligan. The house was rented for most of the 1900s. The United States Army even used it during World War II. Later, it was turned into apartments and sold in the 1970s, but the gardens were not included in the sale. Because of all this, the gardens became very neglected and were eventually forgotten.

After Jack Tremayne passed away without children, the Heligan estate was managed by a family trust. One family member, John Willis, lived nearby. He introduced a record producer named Tim Smit to the gardens. Tim Smit and a group of friends decided to bring the gardens back to life. They eventually leased the gardens from the Tremayne family.

The restoration was a huge success! It was even featured in a six-part TV series on Channel 4 in 1996. The project not only made the gardens beautiful again but also helped the local economy by creating jobs. Today, the gardens are leased by a company owned by the people who restored them. They continue to care for the gardens and welcome visitors.

The gardens also appeared in the 1997 Tots TV special Big Treasure Adventure and the 1998 episode Desert Island Adventure.