An injection of formality into Brown's sweeping vistas, the private South gardens represent a brief distraction from the rolling landscape of Brown's overall design. Viewed from the windows of the state rooms above, these gardens are dominated by the mature oak and lime trees, planted by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert respectively, in 1844. The yew hedges and topiary were added in the late 19th Century in a bid to reinstate some sense of a formal parterre or garden after so much was so boldly swept away in the 18th century.

The formality is accentuated by four raised beds with Blashfield terracotta urns at their centre which were once fountains before being used for bedding displays. Surrounding these are beds of Hybrid T and Floribunda roses planted in the 1960's. Over to the right the Lion Bridge with its heraldic Cecil lions spans 'Capability' Brown's 'New River', actually a lake, which runs right across the view.

These gardens are host to a spectacular display of narcissi in April when the family traditionally open the gardens to raise money for charity.