The Fells: The Historic Estate and Gardens of John Hay

“What is an American Garden?” While many have tried to answer that question, I’ll settle for understanding the gardens and landscape of New England.  One of the most compelling examples of its type is The Fells, the historic estate and garden of John Milton Hay and family located on Lake Sunapee in Newbury, New Hampshire.

A distinguished American diplomat and scholar, Hay served as Abraham Lincoln’s private secretary, Ambassador to Great Britain, and Secretary of State under Theodore Roosevelt and William McKinley.  Remarkably accomplished he co-wrote a multi-volume biography of Lincoln as well as essays, novels, and poetry.  To learn more about Hay read The Quiet Little Warrior by Christopher Benfey in the  March 8, 2018 issue of The New York Review.

In 1888, Hay purchased land in Newbury, New Hampshire to build a summer home as a sanctuary from public life.

At the time, the region was in transition from a farming community to a tourist destination.  Increasingly accessible by rail, the scenic beauty of Lake Sunapee combined with its 2,743-foot high counterpart, Mount Sunapee to provide a multi-seasonal destination.  Hay acquired nearly 1,000 acres of land describing it as a very simple decision writing ‘I was greatly pleased with the air, the water, and the scenery. I have nowhere found a more beautiful spot.”

In homage to his Scottish ancestry, Hay named the property “The Fells,” or rocky upland meadows.  In 1891 a summer “cottage” was built, facing westward to capture the views of the lake and mountain. Designed by architect George Hammond it was enlarged in 1897, and redesigned in 1915, retaining many of its original features.

In 1906 Hay’s son Clarence, an eminent archaeologist, inherited the property.  He and his wife Alice Appleton Hay transformed it into a country estate and working farm, adding many of the garden spaces that remain today.  Perhaps they found a model in Appleton Farms in Ipswich and Hamilton, MA, one of the oldest continuing farms in America that was owned and operated by Alice’s family.  

One of their first endeavors was the design of the “Old Garden” north of the house.  The 1915 topographic survey below, by architect Prentice Sanger, depicts the “Old Garden” on the left of the drawing.

A secluded, self-contained space nestled within the surrounding forest, the “Old Garden” is reached through a path lined with mountain laurel.

Designed in the Colonial Revival Style, the garden’s formal axial layout was originally bordered by perennials and ornamental plantings.  

As the forest grew around the garden it became shaded and overgrown.  Restored in 2009,  its three rooms are enclosed in stone walls and feel very much part of the natural landscape. White architectural features, typical of Colonial Revival Gardens, provide contrast. This peaceful spot is both part of and separate from the forest, a permanent reminder of the impermanence of man-made garden spaces. 

“The garden moves into the forest, just as the forest might eventually overcome the garden,” wrote Clarence and Alice’s son John, a noted author, naturalist and conservation activist.

Created between 1924 and 1927, the Rose Terrace is a formal space enclosed by a fieldstone wall with gateway openings to the rock garden and lawn area/service court.

A masonry niche contains a fountain and semicircular pool.  Originally planted with bush and standard roses and edged with lavender, boxwood, and annuals, the garden was replanted in 2000 with roses that are both hardy and disease resistant.

A 110-foot long perennial border is perhaps one of the property’s best-known and widely photographed features.

Framed by a fieldstone retaining wall parallel to the west side of the house, the border was originally planted with summer perennials, annuals, and biennials in shades of blue, pink, and white.  These included irises, hollyhocks, delphiniums, lilies, and summer phlox.  The bed was restored and replanted using its original plan by volunteers in 1994.

Completed in the mid-1930s, the alpine or rock garden, took nearly ten years to build.  It is sited below the rose terrace on a natural slope south of the house that was formerly pastureland.

Crafted from granite boulders and stepping stones, the Rock Garden features a small stream that disappears into the woods and a series of pools lined with ferns and mosses. Once planted with more than 600 varieties of alpine and garden plants, it now includes hardy native, Asian, and herbaceous perennials.

This is the garden that brought me here, having reviewed Spirit of Place: The Making of a New England Garden by Bill Noble.  In his role as director of preservation for the Garden Conservancy Noble worked on the Fell’s garden restoration.  He describes the rock garden as an exceptional example of a garden that is both unique and a natural outgrowth of the place, “a plausible alpine scene fashioned from an abandoned hayfield that feels as if it has always been there and not imposed by a plant collector showing off his rarities.”

The remnants of an apple orchard are located on a broad, gently rising lawn north of the house.  Located beyond the orchard is the Roosevelt Maple, planted by Theodore Roosevelt when he visited in 1902.   

A heather bed, planted by Clarence Hay in 1931 was restored in 2007-2008. Its undulating shape mimics the mountain beyond. 

The Fells is conserved as part of the John Hay National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1987 through a gift from Alice Hay who donated 164 acres of land “for public use as an inviolate sanctuary for migratory birds, as a migratory bird and wildlife reservation.”  

In 2008, 84 acres of land, including the historic buildings and grounds and immediate grounds and gardens were transferred to The Fells a non-profit organization entrusted with preserving the Hay Family Estate.  To complement this mandate, The Friends of the Fells offers a robust calendar of year-round events and activities.  

Combined the properties maintain the longest stretch of undeveloped shoreline on Lake Sunapee. A visit to The Fells can easily be a day-long expedition as there are multiple hiking trails, of varying lengths and difficulty, to explore.

There is a distinctive quality to The Fells informed by the relationship between its formal and informal features.  This is a landscape rooted in a New England sensitivity that incorporates manmade and natural elements without artifice to create a place of remarkable beauty. 

 

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