1945 Envelope with WAR CABINET OFFICE Cachet, OFFICIAL PAID machine cancellation to Lord Doverdale, (3rd Baron, Edward Alexander Partington) at An Cala, Isle of Seil, ARGYLL, redirected to him at Westwood Park, Droitwich, with OBAN/ARGYLL date stamp to front.

An Cala lies on the B844 at the east end of Easdale Village on the Island of Seil about 16 miles (25.5km) south-west of Oban. The gardens nestle into the base of the rocky outcrop of An Crianan which forms the back bone of Seil Island. The shallow soils overlying the granite rock have been augmented by quantities of topsoil (over 2,800 tons) and many years of mulching, especially with seaweed. Although the site is warmed by the Gulf Stream, the strong Atlantic winds batter it, particularly from the north-west and south-west. From the upper part of the garden, there are extensive views across the Firth of Lorne to the Islands of Islay, Jura, Scarba, and the Garvellachs known as 'the Isles of the Sea'. It is one of the most beautiful seascapes in Scotland. The conifers planted along the escarpment for shelter are some of the few trees along the coastline of the island and, as such, do have considerable visual effect but the remainder of the garden is well protected and hidden from the outside.

The gardens are approximately 5 acres (2ha) in size and are surrounded by either hedges, walls or woodland. The extensive views across the water to the south and west provide a beautiful setting for the designed landscape.

Site History

An Cala was created by the Hon Lt Colonel Arthur Murray, later Lord Elibank, and his wife Faith Celli, the actress. They inherited from an aunt, Mrs Murray, one of a row of three cottages in 1930 when there was nothing on the site except six sycamores and one willow. During the following ten years, the remaining two cottages were purchased and converted into the present house. Mrs Murray died in 1942 and Colonel Murray, concerned about the future survival of the garden, sold it in 1950 to his great friends, Captain and Mrs H.E.H. Blakeney. Mrs Blakeney has recently died and her family are now looking after An Cala.

An Cala is a small 'plantsman's garden' created in the 1930s. It has been continuously gardened by the two owners and their families and most of the plants and colour schemes were designed by Mrs Murray. The steeply rising ground was cleverly used to create a series of terraces at different levels. In 1943 Lt Colonel Murray drew up three plans of the garden recording the layout and planting positions of the main areas. One of these is now kept in the Gardener's potting shed. The gardens can be divided into three components: formal gardens around the house, woodland garden along the base of the escarpment, and the woodland shelterbelt running along the northern boundary, but as all the components blend together in such a small area, they have been described as one.

WESTWOOD PARK-DROITWICH

Westwood was a nunnery in the Middle Ages. At the Dissolution it passed to Sir John Pakington (died 1560), whose main seat of Hampton Lovett lay 2km to the north-east. His grandson John Pakington (knighted 1593, died 1625), who inherited in 1571, built a hunting box here, which after the Civil War became the Pakingtons' principal residence. It remained a part of the Hampton Lovett estate and in the ownership of the Pakingtons until the estate was sold in about 1900. The house was bought in the early 20th century by the first Lord Doverdale, but on the death of the third and last Baron (who married an Australian chorus girl) it was sold and eventually became flats. The park passed into separate ownership in the 20th century and by the late 20th century was intensively farmed.