House, Gardens & Cafe Open Tuesday - Sunday 10.30 - 17.00

Activity Thursday!

Turn your family’s visit to our beautiful grounds into a fun outdoor learning opportunity!

 

Every Thursday we have a range of ‘activity trugs’ to borrow, on curriculum linked topics including evolution and adaptation, habitats and food chains, trees and plants, orienteering as well as maths and literacy activities.

Your trug will contain four different activities with all resources provided to connect your learning experience with our gardens and meadow. Trugs and their contents are cleaned between users and activities are designed to spread visitors out in our extensive grounds.

All activities are suitable for Key Stage 2, with some such as our ‘Discover Nature’ trug a good way to connect even very young children with the wonders of the natural world.

Please ask for a trug when you purchase your grounds ticket.

We look forward to welcoming you!

    Gilbert Whites House

    Gilbert White was aged 7 or 8 when the White family moved from the Vicarage on Selborne’s Plestor, to this house, called ‘The Wakes’ (named after the Wake family who had lived here previously). At that time the property would have been no more than a ‘two up, two down’  but over the subsequent years lots of extensions and additions have been made, creating the long sizeable house you see today.

    The rooms have been restored following descriptions in White’s own correspondence and include a chair he used at Oriel College, Oxford (loaned from the College), items of contemporary furniture, family portraits and bed hangings embroidered for him by his aunts.

    On display is the original manuscript of his book, The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, which was purchased with generous help from English Heritage and others.

    Learn more