Garden design for Lady Shawcross

Administrative / Biographical History

In 1944 Joan Winifred Mather married Hartley William Shawcross, Attorney General from 1945 to 1951. She died in a riding accident on the Sussex Downs in 1974. In 1958 Sir Hartley Shawcross bought Friston Place, Wealden, Sussex, formerly known as Bechington, consisting of a timber framed mansion, built in the early 16th century, and ornamental gardens extending to 15 hectares.