Visit to Marsh Court

Tuesday 8 June 1999

The visit encompassed not only Marsh Court itself but also the estate buildings and memorials designed by Edwin Lutyens. His patron, Herbert Johnson, a rich stock jobber was an ideal client, enabling Lutyens to build estate houses in keeping with the main house. We looked at these in the morning, had lunch at the Grosvenor Hotel – known to Lutyens – and looked a Marsh Court in the afternoon. Its use as a preparatory school left noticeable scars on the fabric, but it has been restored to the condition of its heyday, when Johnson entertained his chums to fishing and hunting in the Test Valley. The Friends were able to walk round the beautifully kept gardens and examine the great white house both inside and out. Mervyn Miller led the group; his booklet Marsh Court and its estate buildings considers the whole estate as a social unit.