margate winter gardens and the style council 1987

The huge walled kitchen gardens with their glasshouses, potting sheds, apple store and so on still exist, though in a rather neglected state. The Sopliora and fig arbour were undamaged. Trees within the grounds were less affected. Some trees were felled or damaged, especially in the woodland fringes. The October storm in 1987 caused considerable damage to Quex. Notable trees are cedars, beeches, wellingtonias and horse chestnuts, and in the more formal area, are the remnants of a terrace, mulberries, a catalpa, a fine weeping Sophora, and a unique fig arbour trained over a metal dome. A sunken pond/fountain garden is an especially attractive feature, and is due to be restored. The grounds are spacious, with well-mown lawns, fine specimen trees, some shrubs and plant borders. The gardens are of interesting horticultural value and quality, and act as an effective setting to the house. The Powell-Cotton Museum, founded by Major Powell-Cotton, represents an extensive and unique collection of stuffed African and Asian mammals, and tribal material.

The house has been through many developments and there has been a loss of landscape features throughout the area in the last century or so.

It is also remarkable that it has remained reasonably intact and in private ownership. Quex Park stands as a unique and valuable island of wooded parkland and amenity landscape in the rather bleak and monotonous intensive agricultural (vegetables and cereals) and residential Thanet area of east Kent. The 19th-century house is now the site of the Powell-Cotton museum. The gardens feature lawns, specimen trees, a sunken pond, fountain garden and a Victorian Walled Garden. Quex Park has an informal garden laid out in the early-19th century by John Powell to form the gardens of the house, although the estate is thought to date from the 15th century.

Margate winter gardens and the style council 1987