Monk's House NT

Monk's House NT The 17th century country home of Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard. The Woolfs bought Monk's House for the 'shape and fertlity and wildness of the garden'.

Nestled in the heart of rural Sussex, Monk’s House is a tranquil 17th-century weatherboarded cottage inhabited by Leonard and the novelist Virginia Woolf from 1919 until Leonards death in 1969. Get to know Leonard and Virginia Woolf and the wider Bloomsbury Group by visiting Monk's House. Full of their favourite things, the house appears as if they just stepped out for a walk. Today, the lovely cottage garden contains a mix of flowers, vegetables, orchards, lawns and ponds.

Happy Birthday Vanessa Bell! 💐Virginia Woolf and her sister Vanessa Bell were both founding members of the Bloomsbury Gr...
30/05/2026

Happy Birthday Vanessa Bell! 💐

Virginia Woolf and her sister Vanessa Bell were both founding members of the Bloomsbury Group, a circle of writers and artists who challenged what they considered to be outmoded Victorian conventions of creative endeavour.

Today we remember her artistic legacy and her impact on Virginia’s work and life. 💕

📷Julian Bell and Vanessa Bell by unknown photographer (1910) Vintage snapshot print, NPG x136462 © National Portrait Gallery, London.
📷Vanessa Bell by Ray Strachey (August 1914) Film negative, NPG x88543 © National Portrait Gallery, London.
🎨Virginia Woolf by Vanessa Bell (circa 1912) Oil on panel, © Monk’s House, National Trust.

10/05/2026

Wisteria hysteria is here! 💜

Monk’s House garden is soaking up all the sunshine and rainbows this time of year 🌞

“Never has the garden been so lovely… dazzling one’s eyes with reds and pinks and purples and mauves” - Virginia Woolf, quoted in Penelope Lively’s ‘Life in the Garden’.



©️National Trust images / Hannah Isbister 2026

virginiawoolf

Capture the beauty of spring with an immersive botanical painting workshop, surrounded by the Monk’s House garden! What ...
02/05/2026

Capture the beauty of spring with an immersive botanical painting workshop, surrounded by the Monk’s House garden! What could be better?! 🌸

Under the expert guidance of acclaimed artist Vicky Mappin, you’ll master the delicate techniques of botanical illustration while surrounded by the very blooms that inspired Virginia Woolf’s writing. 🌿🌱🍃

Beginning with careful observation and precision drawing, you’ll progress to painting techniques, learning to layer washes and build lifelike colour. Under Vicky’s mentorship, you’ll discover how to translate the intricate life of the garden onto the page with clarity and vibrancy. 🌷

Book your spot via the link in our bio - places are limited! 💌



🎨All art featured is by Vicky Mappin

Tea, coffee and light refreshments will be provided, but please bring yourself a packed lunch as there are no onsite catering facilities, nor shops in the village. All painting materials will be provided. The house is closed on Wednesdays but you will have exclusive access to the garden where the workshop will take place (Should the weather be adverse to outside painting there will be indoor space available).

25/04/2026

Connect with your creativity and flow state in this mindful Suminagashi Japanese ink marbling workshop, set in the serene surroundings of the Monk’s House garden. 🌀

Arriving at Monk’s House you’ll have some time to enjoy the garden and a personalised visit to Virginia Woolf’s bedroom to see her handbound Shakespeare collection - binding these books was a mindful therapy for Virginia when experiencing headaches.

There will be a welcoming meditation led by Lisa in the peaceful surrounds of the garden, and a brief history of the origins and philosophy of Suminagashi. Lisa will then guide you through techniques, experimentation and play to make several monoprints. These decorative prints are a unique record of that moment in time and the creative variations are infinite. 🌿✨

Book via our website today - go to our link in bio and click ‘Workshops and Events’ 🌷

Workshop facilitator:



Address

Monk's House, The Street
Rodmell
BN73HF

Telephone

+441273474760

Website

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