Phyllis Reiss

Phyllis Emily Reiss born Phyllis Emily Lucas (3 3October 1886 – 1961) was a British garden designer noted for her work at her own Tintinhull Garden, and Montacute House.

Phyllis Reiss
Born	Phyllis Emily Lucas 3 October 1886 Berkhamsted
Died	1961
Nationality	British
Occupation	Garden designer
Known for	designing Tintinhull Gardens
Spouse	Capt. F.E. Reiss

The Formal Gardens behind Tintinhull House in 2001

Life

Reiss was born in Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire. Her parents were Edith Hamilton (born Crake) and Colonel Alfred George Lucas. Her father had been in the army^[1] and he served as High Sheriff of Suffolk in 1904^[2] and well as a mayor of Lowestoft.^[1]

They had a substantial home at Dowdeswell Manor in the Cotswolds near to Hidcote Manor Gardens.^[3]

In 1933 Reiss and her husband, Capt. F. E. Reiss, bought Tintinhull House and Garden.^[4] The garden layout had been developed by Dr. Price who had created triangular and diamond shaped flagstone paths and ornamental domes of box were planted in the 1920s.^[5]

The existing early landscaping was expanded by Reiss starting in 1933 in an Arts and Crafts "Hidcote" style.^[6] The 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) garden was separated into "rooms" by yew hedges and walls.^[7] The different areas included Eagle Court, Middle Garden, Fountain Garden and Pool Garden.^[6] The pool garden was their only additional area^[8] and it was created on the site of a former tennis court.^[5] This pool garden was a memorial to a nephew who had lost his life during the war above Malta.^[8] A painting of him, Michael Lucas, is at Tintinhull.^[9]

In 1954 Reiss gave the house and garden to the National Trust, but she continued to live in the house and care for the garden.

Death and legacy

Reiss died in 1961^[1] and the National Trust continue to look after the property.^[10] The house's later tenants included the garden designer and writer Penelope Hobhouse and her husband Prof John Malins from 1980 to 1993.^[8] Reiss's carefree planting was said to have had a strong influence of Hobhouse as well as Dame Sylvia Crowe and the American born designer Lanning Roper.^[11]

References

1. "Reiss [née Lucas], Phyllis Emily (1886–1961), garden designer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48842. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 2021-04-02. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
2. "No. 27655". The London Gazette. 8 March 1904. p. 1538.
3. "TINTINHULL HOUSE, Tintinhull - 1001156 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
4. Hailes, Julia. "Tintinhull House". Julia Hailes. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
5. Bond, James (1998). Somerset Parks and Gardens. Somerset Books. pp. 139–140. ISBN 978-0-86183-465-5.
6. Hegarty, Lesley (2 April 2021). "Treasures at Tintinhull". Somerset Life. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
7. "Tintinhull House Garden". Great British Gardens. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
8. "Tintinhull House Garden". Garden Visit. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
9. "Michael Lucas (d.1945), Nephew of Captain and Mrs F. E. Reiss | Art UK". artuk.org. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
10. "A gardener's garden". National Trust. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
11. "Inspiring female garden designers in British history". Gardens Illustrated. Retrieved 2021-04-02.