This perfect example of a country house murder has inspired novels by many writers including Dickens, Wilkie Collins and Mary Elizabeth Braddon. 

The murder in 1860 of a 4 year old boy discovered at the bottom of a garden privy has continued to capture the imagination of the public and turned everyone into amateur detectives.  Such is the interest in this murder that yet a further book, Paul Chambers’ ‘Murder Most Foul’ has recently been published about the Rode murder.

Thought to be only the third time in 150 years that the gardens at Road Hill House (now called Langham House) have been opened to the public, this is therefore a rare chance to see the magnificent gardens.  The gardens of Langham House will be open by kind permission of Chris & Stephanie Lyons. 

A second Rode garden, Rivermead, is also going to be open on July 4th as part of Rode’s Open Gardens.  Described as ‘one of the remarkable small gardens in Somerset’, this garden is a series of miniature tableaux and are full of exotic plants. It is the result of over 50 years work by owner Micheal Sparey. 



The Rode Open Gardens Event is in aid of the Heart of Rode Appeal, an Appeal tasked to raise £60,000 to fund improvements to Rode’s ancient village church of St Lawrence.

Both gardens are open from 14:00 through to 17:00 on Sunday July 4th. Tickets are available in advance at £4 each from Rode Post Office or £5 on the Gate on July 4th.

If you put Rode, Somerset into Google maps you can drag the little orange man on the toolbar into the map of Rode, and you will find yourself looking at Rode from summer 2009.

There were quite a few people out and about  in the village then, are you one of them?

Barrow Farm track

The view down Lower Street first thing on the 6th January