Chumleigh World Garden

The buildings you see surrounding the garden were originally known as the Friendly Female Asylum. Established in 1823 by the Female Friendly Society, the facility provided modest homes for destitute women over the age of seventy. The charity operated on the guiding principle of love, kindness, and an absence of humbug. These women, who were affectionately dubbed the old objects by locals, lived in these quiet bedsits until the site suffered severe damage during the bombing raids of the second world war.