Open Garden at St Wolstan's House in Wigston Magna
- Russell Thorpe
- Jul 18
- 3 min read
St Wolstan's House was built in 1856 as a farmhouse and replaced a previous house. In 1839 the farm had 145 acres, with the fields laid out in a straight line behind the house stretching towards Oadby and in 1945 it had just under 100 acres.
The farmyard buildings, which were behind the house where the flats in Boulter Crescent now stand, were still in existence in the 1970s. The only building left is the original laundry that is built on a vaulted brick cellar which collects rainwater from the laundry roof and the two roofs on the north side of the house.
Kevin & Stephen purchased the property in January in 2003 and have been restoring the house and establishing and the garden ever since. The garden, designed by us, is still a work in progress. It had been neglected for many years, with ivy and weeds growing everywhere and overgrown leyandii hedges obscuring the laundry building, top garden and side wall.
Apart from the Californian redwoods (Sequoiadendron giganteum or Wellingtonia), cedar, yew, bay and cotoneaster, which are all here, we have planted and created everything else. Stephen is the head gardener and does all planting and Kevin is the assistant gardener and does weeding, dead heading and tidying up. The garden changed significantly in 2026 with the removal of all the box hedging due to the devastation caused by the box caterpillar.
The Edwardian conservatory was built in 1914 by the Loughborough firm Messenger & Co., founded in 1858, which was famous for garden buildings including conservatories, greenhouses and summer houses in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
The conservatory cost £212 7s 6d, including the door to the drawing room with the two stone steps, the Makin tiled floor and the window mechanisms. It is one of the few surviving Messenger & Co. buildings in Leicestershire along with the orangery at Kilworth House.
The conservatory was restored in 2010 and painted by our good friend Kev Croft and his son Kirk. Due to damage caused by the leaking new guttering, it was repaired, refurbished and repainted by Kirk and his brother Jake in 2026, with new tiles added to the sides of the original floor, new tiled windowsills and a remodelled pond. Kirk has also done most of the hard landscaping and, in addition to helping with their design, Kirk made all the handrails and the Italian garden railings.
We hope that you enjoy your visit to our garden and thank you for coming and supporting the National Garden Scheme (NGS) charity.
Homemade teas are available from the kitchen window in the well garden.
All proceeds go to charity: 10% to the NGS and 90% to our chosen charity which is Bright Hope.
Open Gardens at St. Wolstan's House
Approx ½ acre garden divided into garden rooms with formal and informal planting featuring specimen Sequoia sempervirens and Cedrus libani. Inc formal white garden, rose garden, sunken Italian garden with Triton fountain, lawned area surrounded by mixed border and paths with rose and wisteria pergola and laburnum arch, Edwardian conservatory, terracotta garden and well garden with raised beds.
Sunday 19 July 2026 11am to 5pm
Just turn up and pay on the day.
Refreshments Home-made teas.
Admission Adult: £5.00 Child: £0.00
Link for The National Garden Scheme
Location details
St Wolstan's House, Church Nook, Wigston Magna, Leicestershire, LE18 3RA
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Directions to St Wolstan's House
On the corner of Church Nook & Bull Head Street, opposite St Wistan's Church.
No parking at garden. Public car parks, all within 5 min walk on Frederick Street, Junction Road & Paddock Street.
Mr Kevin De-Voy & Mr Stephen Walker
In aid of BRIGHT HOPE CHARITY
They support adults in North West Leicestershire with mental health, loneliness, and life challenges through free counselling, social groups, and community support.
Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation No. 1169561
Pictures and Video by Russell Thorpe for Leicester Media Online
