Bedgebury National Pinetum

Bedgebury is first mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon charter in AD 841, the name deriving from the Old English bycgan, meaning "buy", and the Kentish , meaning "to bend or turn", possibly in reference to a stream. John de Bedgebury is listed as the earliest resident of Bedgebury, in the time of Edward II. In the 15th century Agnes de Bedgebury, sister and heir of John (died 1424) married John Colepeper, whose Colepeper heirs, financed by mining clay-ironstone on the estate, were resident until at the time of the restoration of Charles II, and who created an ornamental park on the Bedgebury estate. Elizabeth I visited in August 1573. The current house was built in 1688 for Sir James Hayes, a…

The aim of Bedgebury National Pinetum is "to grow as many species of conifers as the climatic conditions will allow, planted in generic groupings, using geographically associated plantings where possible." (W. Dallimore, 1923) Bedgebury National Pinetum is home to six National Plant Collections accredited with the Plant Heritage charity: Yew, Juniper, Thuja, Lawson's Cypress, Leyland Cypress and Cryptomeria japonica. The collection contains 56 species that have been officially declared vulnerable or critically endangered.