HISTORY OF Mount Ephraim
For three hundred years Mount Ephraim has belonged to the Dawes family. From a farm in Westmorland members of the family came south in the 1690s and a Major Bethel Dawes built a house in the village of Hernhill, choosing his site well. From the eminence on which the house stands the ground slopes downwards in all directions giving superb views over woods and farmland. On a fine day the Essex coast can be seen across the Thames Estuary. The origin of the name Mount Ephraim is unknown, but biblical names such as Joppa, Jacob's Field and Land of Beulah occur in other parts of the estate.
The original house was a modest building of some charm. From around 1820 to 1870 this dwelling was let to the vicar of Hernhill, the Reverend Handley, who featured as a stern figure in the local Courtenay riots of 1838. In all probability he was responsible for planting the fine old trees which add so much to the present layout.
The existing house was built by Edwyn (later Sir Edwyn) Dawes, who, having gone to sea as a boy, established himself as a wealthy and successful shipowner, becoming Chairman of the New Zealand Shipping Company in 1890. Around 1876 he decide to re-occupy the family home. The elegant little house was riddled with dry rot and had to be demolished. It was replaced by the present, much grander building. This is of red brick and stone, the large plate glass windows contrasting with some Georgian characteristics. The interior is very fine with good plasterwork and well proportioned rooms. The large hall has marble columns and a cantilevered staircase constructed by Italian craftsmen.
Sir Edwyn acquired a considerable acreage of farm and woodland, developing and opening up the Blean woods. He was an enlightened landowner, building good sound cottages for his employees. A tablet in Henhill church records the appreciation of his fellow parishioners. On his death in 1903 his eldest son Willie inherited the estate and succeeded his father as Chairman of the New Zealand Shipping Company.
It was Willie Dawes who developed the garden, which was to become for him an absorbing and lifelong interest. Hid daughter Betty recalled that at one time he emplyed a permanent garden staff of twelve, plus an improvements gand of twenty. Again, no professional landscape gardener was involved, though it is believed that the firm of Waterers laid out the dramatic sweep of the rock garden.
Near the house a topiary garden and box-edged parterre were established. The yews are trimmed into a miscellany of shapes, which include regimental badges and a tank from the First World War. The terraces which slope down to the lake required deep retaining walls of brick and were surrounded and sub-divided by yew hedges. The pond at the foot of this slope was enlarged to form a small lake and the rock garden curved down to this from the stable block. Two splendid pavilions were built against the lowest retaining wall, backing three grass tennis courts. Most of these operations were begun in 1910. According to an extand garden ledger, some work continued, surprsisingly, until halfway through the First World War.
Willie Dawes died in 1920 and his son Sandys was left with means inadequate to maintain the property. To reduce expenses he retreated into the Garden Wing, leaving the main area of the house empty. This part was commandered by the Army in 1939 and occupied by troops for the whole of the Second World war. For defensive purposes slit trenches were dug in certain areas of the garden, while other spots became rubbish dumps. An enemy bomb fell by the lake. Lettuces were cultivated on the front lawn, an elderly penshioner spent the summer trimming the topiary with hand shears and Sandys himself struggled to maintain the yew hedges with eletrical clippers. Geese were introduced to graze the tennis courts, but their prolific droppings made play hazardous.
By the time Sandys Dawes died in 1949 the garden was virtually derelict, the outer reaches so overgrown with weeds as to be impenetrable. The entail had been broken giving freedom to Bill, the elder son, to renounce, should he wish, the responsibility of the upkeep he had inherited. For a time he seriously considered selling up, but eventually in 1950 he moved into Mount Ephraim with his wife Mary and their four young children.
Financial reparation for Army damage had helped make the house habitable. The struggle to rescue the garden then began. Money and labour were both in short supple and the Edwardian layout was modified. Bill and Mary Dawes made up for their lack of knowledge with their boundless energy and enthusiasm and their weekend visitors were roped in to help with the initial clearance. Very gradually order was restored. The annual openings in support of the National Gardens Scheme were a strong incentive to the achievement of higher standards and in this context the Hardy family of Sandling Park gave help, advice and encouragement.
Like his predecessors Bill had a successful career in shipping, becoming Chairman of the New Zealand Shipping Company in 1966, the third member of the family to hold this office. Retiring in 1972 he had more time to devote to his beloved garden and the pace of the replanting quickened, especially in the rock garden.
The decision to open the garden to the public on a regular basis was taken after Bill's death in 1982. His son, Sandys, took over the management of the fruit farm which his father had established and Sandys' wife Lesley ran the tea room, gift shop, events and marketing. They have five children. Sandys' mother Mary continued to run the garden until her death in 2009 at the age of 93. Sandys' eldest son William has now just taken over running Mount Ephraim but Sandys and Lesley continue to be very involved. The family take a great pride in their inheritance, which they are happy to share with their visitors.