House, Gardens & Cafe Open Tuesday - Sunday 10.30 - 17.00

Mad Hatter’s Picnic

Tickets are available on the door. 

April 19th

A forty-five minute long performance, based on the narrative of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, where audience members are invited to bring along a picnic and enjoy an afternoon with Alice and friends. Audiences will follow Alice as she chases the White Rabbit through the gardens, ending up at a crazy tea party with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. Here, guests will take their seats to watch and interact with the characters as the story unfolds around them. This performance will include some live music & singing from the performers, and plenty of ways for the audience to get involved. The piece concludes with a trial, when the Queen of Hearts shows up to find out who stole the jam tarts – will the audience snitch on the Hatter, or will they keep it quiet?

First Performance: 1pm- Fully Booked
Second Performance: 2.15pm
Final Performance: 3.30pm

    Gilbert Whites House

    Gilbert White was aged 7 or 8 when the White family moved from the Vicarage on Selborne’s Plestor, to this house, called ‘The Wakes’ (named after the Wake family who had lived here previously). At that time the property would have been no more than a ‘two up, two down’  but over the subsequent years lots of extensions and additions have been made, creating the long sizeable house you see today.

    The rooms have been restored following descriptions in White’s own correspondence and include a chair he used at Oriel College, Oxford (loaned from the College), items of contemporary furniture, family portraits and bed hangings embroidered for him by his aunts.

    On display is the original manuscript of his book, The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, which was purchased with generous help from English Heritage and others.

    Learn more