Turn End is one of three houses designed and built in the 1960s by internationally renowned architect Peter Aldington in the village of Haddenham, Buckinghamshire.

The three houses received a Royal Institute of British Architects Award for Architecture in 1970 and were listed at Grade II* in 2006;  only a handful of post war houses are listed at this grade.  In November 2017 Historic England listed Turn End’s garden at Grade II and added it to the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. At that time Turn End was the only post-war listed house and garden created by the same hand.

As modern housing, made of wood, concrete block and glass, in a traditional setting, the group has always been celebrated as a rare British representative amongst the best of European housing design and has welcomed visitors from all over the world.  Turn End's garden, designed and made by Peter as a natural extension to the house, grew with the buildings, maturing into a world renowned garden. Turn End has provided teaching material for students of architecture and landscape design, been written about nationally and internationally and photographed widely.

Visit us:

Turn End is still the Aldington family home. It is not open every day but we are delighted to welcome visitors at one of our public events or by booking a group visit by appointment to the garden. Friends of Turn End can also book a self-guided visit to the garden throughout the year. Please find out more about visiting including directions and parking advice on our Visit & Contact page.

23 May 2025

Building the Future: Turn End 2045

The houses and gardens at Turn End were built by a young married couple in the 1960s but their beauty and their harmonious setting in the village of Haddenham continue to enchant visitors locally and all over the world. Sixty years later, Peter and Margaret Aldington still live in the main house and oversee the wider estate. Now, as part of Turn End’s 60th anniversary, the Trustees are taking stock and preparing for the future.

While our Open Days, our talks, classes, and tours are always hugely popular, we recognise that there are many more people in the local and wider community who could benefit from what Turn End has to offer. Whether simply to enjoy respite from a busy life within the quiet of the garden or to learn new skills in woodworking, design and horticulture, we believe Turn End has an unique and exciting potential to help shape lives and grow new communities of learning.

To achieve this ambition we need to improve our community engagement, consider provision for the future care and maintenance of the estate, and build a robust and impactful programme of events to help sustain Turn End long into the future.

We have therefore embarked on an ambitious project called Building the Future: Turn End 2045. We are working with our friends, supporters and stakeholders to nurture new ideas and new partnerships to help Turn End grow and contribute to the community in more powerful and positive ways.

Peter and Margaret Aldington were ahead of their time. As a result, Turn End remains hugely relevant to all our lives. The long-term vision is for Turn End to host more people to engage with and learn about horticulture, about the design of village housing, and perhaps to gain new skills in making, designing, and gardening. Working with a range of existing and new partners, we aim to grow a more robust and impactful organisation that helps improve lives and offers a sustainable place to breathe in the beautiful Buckinghamshire village of Haddenham.

How we bring about that vision is the subject of our current study. Watch out for more details soon and be sure we will create ways for you to share your thoughts and ideas.

April 2025

Mediterranean plants for Turn End’s dry garden

Last April, our Gardener Jackie Hunt visited Corfu on a botanical study trip to explore gardens and discover wildflowers. Since then she has been sharing her research through a report, a series of lectures and experimenting with introducing some of the plants that she admired to the dry garden here at Turn End. You can download her plant list here.

Watch the talk online - Turn End with Garden Masterclass

If you missed the talk about Turn End talk by our gardener, Jackie Hunt, for Garden Masterclass you can now watch it for free on Garden Masterclass’ You Tube channel here.

Turn End features on Grand Designs: The Streets, Series 2, Episode 3

We were delighted to hear how self builders John and Julia were inspired by Turn End for their own home at Graven Hill, Oxfordshire. In the programme, aired 27 April 2022, presenter Kevin McCloud describes Turn End as an “architectural masterpiece…a place of pilgrimage for architects and self builders”. Come and find your inspiration at one of our house and garden events this year.

Volunteering Opportunities

Escape for an hour or two into nature and reap the wellbeing and uplifting benefits Turn End has to offer. We are looking for volunteers to join our friendly team and assist us in the running of our events programme. There are various roles from garden preparation, to house and garden hosts, catering, book and plant sales. Roles can be tailored to fit your skills and availability. For more information please get in touch: turnendtrustevents@gmail.com or complete our online volunteer form.