06-06-2021, 10:00 AM
Yesterday we took a trip out to see the beautiful gardens at Spitfire House, near Stockbridge in Hampshire. They are open for charity on selected days. The owner and "head gardener" is Tessa Redshaw, who came across to welcome us when she saw the Austin. It turns out that she is the great-granddaughter of Lord Austin, her grandmother being Zeta Lambert (nee Austin) who bought the farm in 1947.
The house is high up on the downs, built on the site of one of several dispersed Spitfire assembly areas associated with the Chattis Hill airfield, and one can still see tethering rings used to hold the aircraft during engine testing. As a horse racing and training area, there were long and wide gallops which could be used as runways for takeoff.
The house is high up on the downs, built on the site of one of several dispersed Spitfire assembly areas associated with the Chattis Hill airfield, and one can still see tethering rings used to hold the aircraft during engine testing. As a horse racing and training area, there were long and wide gallops which could be used as runways for takeoff.