We have discovered from archive diaries, that every time Capability Brown came down to Sherborne Castle, Robert Digby would ride over to pick his brains.

Capability Brown revolutionized the English domestic landscape in the 18th Century. He gained his name because he used to observe a landscape and say, “ah, it has capabilities.”

Originally at Minterne there was just a small stream below the house, with a square bowling green and four rectangular, either gardens or paddocks, up to the house. Capability Brown’s idea was that everything should look natural, and although it was all man-made, it should just seem as if it happened. He never wanted any straight lines or avenues.

The small stream was therefore dammed up to make a series of small lakes & cascades. The square gardens were swept away, and many trees planted, mostly indigenous varieties, but also cedars and other exotic trees. Although the hills are chalk, the garden is situated on a mound of green sand, which runs for a mile down the centre of the valley. This, with the humus and dappled shade provided by the large beech trees, was the perfect setting for the Rhododendrons and Magnolias from the Wilson, Forrest, Rock & Kingdon Ward expeditions to the Himalayas.

The 20 acres of wild woodland garden are laid out in a horseshoe over a mile round.