Alistair Hardaker
Image: Benton End House and Gardens (Ngoc Minh Ngo)
£294,221 lottery grant funds surveys, architectural plans and investigations ahead of full restoration funding application.
The Garden Museum in London is to begin the restoration of Benton End House and gardens in Suffolk, the former home of artist and gardener Sir Cedric Morris and partner Arthur Lett-Haines.
The museum has been awarded a £294,221 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to begin the ‘Benton End Revived’, which is hoped to allow public access to the garden by next Summer.
This initial grant will fund the first phase of the project, which includes carrying out surveys, drawing up architectural and conservation plans, further investigating the roof and fabric of the building, and working up activity and business plans.
Following this work being completed, the museum plan to return to the Heritage Fund for full funding in order to carry out the restoration and adaptation work that Benton End needs, and to deliver a programme of activities and engagement.
The house saw Sir Morris and Lett-Haines establish the art school East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing. One of the first pupils was the 17-year old Lucian Freud; one of the last, Maggi Hambling.
The artists were often joined by friends such as Elizabeth David, Vita Sackville-West, Constance Spry, Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears.
After nearly 40 years of private ownership by four successive families, in 2021 Benton End was majority gifted to the Garden Museum by two patrons with the intention that the house and garden might be revived and opened as a place of learning, art and horticulture once again.
Beatrice Prosser-Snelling, Benton End project director said the house “requires significant repairs, maintenance and intervention to make it work as a cultural site equipped for visitors.
“That’s why this grant is so important, and it represents the start of a very exciting project. We’re grateful to the Heritage Fund and to National Lottery Players, as well as all of the Benton End and Garden Museum supporters.”
In summer 2026, the Garden Museum plans to open the gardens at Benton End to the public once again, ahead of redeveloping the house.
