Earl and Lady De La WarrWilliam, Earl De La Warr and his wife Anne and their family invite you to share their ancestral home.

The Sackville family’s ancestral motto “Jour De Ma Vie” translates as “Day of My Life” which is how we hope you will remember your visit to Buckhurst.

Buckhurst Estate has been owned by the Sackville family for some 900 years and the house, Buckhurst Park, is still a much loved family home. Herbrand de Sauqueville, a follower of William the Conqueror, settled in Sussex and his grandson married Ela de Dene, heiress of the Manor of Buckhurst where their descendants still live. A close connection with Queen Elizabeth 1st was established through a marriage with a Boleyn girl and the Queen soon promoted her cousin Thomas Sackville to the titles Lord Buckhurst and Earl of Dorset, later to become Dukes of Dorset and Earls De La Warr. A royal connection has been continued by Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and the late Princess Margaret who all visited and planted trees, some of which can be seen to this day.

Unique History of the Gardens and Estate
The origins of the current house at Buckhurst date from 1603, although it has been improved and altered at various stages since then. Most notably, the park was laid out by Humphrey Repton in the eighteenth century, and in the early twentieth century, Sir Edwin Lutyens was commissioned to add a large wing and, with some planting by Gertrude Jekyll, a formal terraced garden; the greater part of the Lutyens wing was largely taken down by the 10th Earl but the gardens remain and are my wife’s particular joy. Perhaps the most famous part of the estate, however, is 100 Acre Wood immortalised by A. A. Milne in Winnie the Pooh; Milne lived in Hartfield, one of the villages on the Buckhurst estate, and my father even remembered playing with Christopher Robin and his famous bear.

The Estate Today
Today, the Estate remains very much a working one, and produces some of the finest organic meat from our herds of Sussex Cattle, Jacob Sheep and Large Black Pigs. My wife, Anne, also breeds pedigree Shetland Ponies that, as the South Park Stud, are the oldest registered Shetlands in the world. The Estate hosts many outdoor pursuits including pheasant shooting, fishing and clay pigeon shooting and, with the beautiful backdrop of Buckhurst Park, is the ideal choice for a wedding venue or for corporate events.

Buckhurst is a very special place to me and my family and I am delighted to be able to share our website with you.

William, Earl De La Warr