by Chris Price

Four seconds. That is the time it took for Dominic Parker to
decide he wanted to buy The Salutation from the first moment he
laid eyes on it in 2004.

It was in a dilapidated state. The original driveway was covered
in black Tarmac and the trees and gardens were overgrown but
Dominic knew he was on to something when he found the mansion,
tucked away near the Quay in Sandwich.

Five years on and The Salutation and the Secret Gardens of
Sandwich have been restored to the glory it had when architect Sir
Edwin Lutyens designed them in 1912.

Open seven days a week and preparing to host a contemporary
stone sculptures exhibition, it is little wonder Dominic smiles to
himself when he reflects on the day he first set eyes on his
home.

"I liken it to finding Miss Havisham’s house from Great
Expectations," he said. "There was an opportunity for me to live in
a house that ordinarily you would never expect to have the chance
to live in.

"I had no idea it was going to cost so much to run with all the
gardeners and ancillary staff that come with it but it was like
finding a diamond in a river and I thought 'oh my God I have got to
have that'."

A Living Art Gallery exhibition will take over The Secret
Gardens of Sandwich from Monday, August 24 to Monday, August 31.
Some 35 contemporary stone sculptures will be on show by sculpture
group Pure Form, headed by Canterbury Christ Church lecturer and
sculptor Patrick Crouch.

The pieces of stone used as the plinth for the sculptures will
be from the top of the tower of the restored St Clement’s Church in
Sandwich.

To read our full interview with Dominic and The
Secret Gardens' head gardener Steve Edney, pull out your free
What's On guide in your local KM Group paper.