It is not known when the first manor house was built at Colesbourne but by 1672, the house had 11 hearths. It was extended in 1703 by the Sheppard family, clothiers of Minchinhampton who sold it in 1789 to John Elwes, son of John Elwes – more of him later!

By 1850, Elwes had twelve children and he decided to replace the manor house with a large Victorian building designed by the Scottish architect, David Brandon.

Henry John Elwes inherited the estate from his father in 1891. Described as ‘a giant of a man, and a very dominating character’, Elwes travelled widely, collecting many species of plants and trees from abroad. Elwes was also interested in ornithology, lepidoptory, horticulture, dendrology and agriculture. He wrote:

I have, during my life, taken an active part in most outdoor sports and occupations. I have crossed and recrossed the Himalayas and the Andes, explored Siberia and Formosa, and, as I grow older, I find that there is more companionship, consolation and true pleasure in gardening and in plants than in anything I have tried.

While on a trip to Turkey in 1874, Elwes discovered a large snowdrop which was named after him, Galanthus elwesii. Elwes planted numerous snowdrops at Colesbourne and the present collection has been described as ‘England’s greatest snowdrop garden.’

With his interest in bulbs, Elwes published in 1880, the folio edition of The Genus Lilium with assistance from J.G. Baker of Kew. [I saw a copy when I worked in an antiquarian bookshop in London – it’s a magnificent work.] And between 1907 and 1913, Elwes and the botanist Augustine Henry, recorded every species of tree growing outdoors in the British Isles in the seven volume work The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland.

During the Second World War, Colesbourne House was requisitioned and when Henry Elwes inherited the estate in 1956, the house was half-empty. Elwes kept the dining room but demolished the rest of the building, erecting a smaller house around it.

I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the John Elwes whose son bought Colesbourne and although this John Elwes had no direct influence on the gardens here, his life is worth mentioning! Born John Meggot in 1714, his father died when he was four. His mother inherited a considerable fortune – c£100,000 – but it is said she was so miserley that she refused to spend any money on food and died from starvation. John inherited some of his mother’s traits: he would go to bed in darkness rather than light a candle; would sit with the servants to save lighting another fire; walked in the rain rather than get a coach and allegedly ate a rotten moorhen stolen from a rat – it is perhaps not surprising that John is purported to be the model for Charles Dicken’s Scrooge.

John also decided to change his name from Meggot to Elwes, in order to endear himself to his rich uncle, Sir Harvey Elwes. The plan worked for on Sir Harvey’s death in 1763, John inherited his fortune.

On his death in 1789, Elwes left £500,000 (almost £1 billion today) to his two sons who were both born out of wedlock.

Perhaps surprisingly, Elwes was also a great supporter of Robert Adam and many of the houses in Piccadilly, Baker Street and Marylebone were financed by him. English Heritage has yet to erect a blue plaque in his memory.