The length of this list of acknowledgements is itself a sign of how many layers of thought and direction go into running a place like Sissinghurst. It is a deeply complicated business.
First, I must thank the four people without whom the farm project at Sissinghurst would never have happened: Sally Bushell, the Trust’s property manager; Jonathan Light, until recently the area manager; Sue Saville, regional director in the south-east; and Fiona Reynolds, director-general of the Trust. Sissinghurst owes them all untold thanks.
Beyond them, I would like to thank everyone in the National Trust who has given me and Sissinghurst their help and expertise over the last few years, in particular David Adshead; Jane Arnott; Mike Buffin; Tony Burton; Tim Butler; Sue Clement; Michelle Cleverley; Andy Copestake; Ivo Dawnay; Ed Diestelkamp; Jane Fletcher; Louisa Freeman-Owen; Harry Goring; Sue Herdman; Rob Jarman; Lynne Kemp; Sue Knevett; Rob Macklin; Maggie Morgan; Simon Murray; Peter Nixon; Matthew Oates; Dottie Owens; William and Merry Proby; Stuart Richards; Richard Saville; Emma Slocombe; Sarah Staniforth; Caroline Thackray; Sue Wilkinson; and Richard Wheeler.
The changes this book describes have not been easy and I am immensely grateful to everyone working at Sissinghurst for tolerating the disruptions I have caused, especially to Claire Abery; Stephen Barnett; Maddie Bell; Di Bennett; Sue East; Sam Butler; Ginny Coombes; Amy Covey; Alexis Datta; Emma Davies; Peter Dear; Stacey Deaves; Peter Fifield; Gavin Fuller; Anita Goodwin; Jo Jones; Matthew Law; Tom Lupton; Daniel Mead; Clemmie Mendes; Philip and Joy Norton; Lynda Pearce; Tim Prior; Heather Reece; David Reynolds; Victoria Roberts; Sarah Roots; Jacqui Ruthven; Jean Shill; Wendy and Tony Tremen-heere; Sue Watson; Barbara White; Maggie White; Caroline Wilding; Nathanael Wilkins; and Michelle Woodcock.
Mary Stearns; Brian and Linda Clifford; Pat, Catherine and the late James Stearns are all members of a family which has been at Sissinghurst since the 1920s. They have helped me enormously with their time, memories, insights and the loan of precious photographs and documents.
My own family has been encouragement itself, none more than my wife Sarah Raven, who from the beginning has poured untold amounts of energy and time into the farm project; my sisters Juliet and Rebecca Nicolson; my children Tom, William, Ben, Rosie and Molly Nicolson; my cousins Vanessa Nicolson and Robert Sackville-West; my nieces Flora and Clemmie Macmillan-Scott; as well as the irreplaceable Charles Anson and David O’Rourke.
Many friends have helped in different ways: Simon Bishop; Charlie Boxer; Emma Bridgewater; Helen Browning; Jonathan Buckley; Carla Carlisle; Antonio Carluccio; Sue Clifford; Priscilla Conran; Harry Cory-Wright; Tim Dee; Sheila Dillon; Montagu and Sarah Don; Martin Drury; Jo Fairley; Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall; Simon and Lucinda Fraser; Katrin Hochberg; Patrick Holden; Glenn Horowitz; Mary Keen; William Kendall; Angela King; Robin Leach; John and Kate Leigh-Pemberton; Tom Maynard; Pip Morrison; Tom Oliver; Andrew Palmer; Anna Pavord; Dan Pearson; Thomas and Flora Pennybacker; Sorley Pennybacker; Johann Perry; Matthew Rice; Sigrid Rausing; Norman Rose; Jacob Rothschild; Peter Rumley; Craig Sams; Claire Spottiswoode; Phil Stocker; Penny Tweedie; Peter Weeden; Guy Watson; Claire Whalley; Kim Wilkie; Fred Windsor-Clive; and Sofka Zinovieff.
Others who have unstintingly given their assistance are: Tony Allison; Nicola Bannister; Peter Brandon; Betty Carman; Hadrian Cook; Nicholas Cooper; George Ellis; Lorraine Flisher; Douglas Green; Paula Henderson; Mark Hoare; Jeremy Hodgkinson; Maurice Howard; Alastair Laing; Todd Longstaffe-Gowan; Tom Maynard; Nick Newell; Susan Pittman; Ernie Pollard; Lee Prosser; Jeremy Purseglove; Ben Raskin; Kirsty Righton; Margaret Richardson; Tony Singleton; Michael Zell.
Caroline Dawnay and Zoe Pagnamenta have been stalwart allies as ever. At HarperCollins Susan Watt, Pria Taneja, Vera Brice and Helen Ellis have worked their usual miracles. In particular I would like to thank Peter Wilkinson for drawing the maps. Derrick Bradbury’s picture of Sissinghurst was only identified by chance. He very kindly had it photographed for this book. If there is anyone else who knows of images, artefacts, plans or pictures of Sissinghurst, please get in touch with the author on adam@shiantisles.net