Dame Judi Dench lives in a sprawling countryside farmhouse worth £8million, but the home was at one point “overrun by mice” and structurally unsound. The actress settled in her Surrey home almost 40 years ago with her late husband Michael Williams, who died from lung cancer in 2001.
Located just outside London, close to the village of Outwood with its 720 residents, Judi’s property boasts a barn, a swimming pool and a pond, along with gardens she intends to rewild.
Mice and Structural Concerns
Judi revealed after the Covid-19 lockdown: “The mice have moved in since lockdown and I'm battling the mice. They have moved in and taken over a bit.”
Constructed in 1497, she said the historic property “is falling down a bit here and there”, but has “wonderful” gardens, sprawling across 7,000 square feet.
Memorial Woodland and Sentimental Touches
Judi’s home contains plenty of sentimental touches, including a young oak tree she planted in memory of her husband. She explained to The Guardian: “It was just a little kind of stick when it arrived. And now it’s full of buds at the top.”
The rest of her memorial woodland contains more than 100 trees to remember people she has lost. Judi said: “There are so many people here. I have over 100. That’s a lot of people to have lost, but that’s what happens when you get to 91, I guess.”
She told The Telegraph in 2021: “Ever since I was a little girl, I have been interested in trees. I've even turned my six-acre garden into a secret woodland, and I see my trees as my extended family. It is about remembering and for me, it's something that's living and goes on, the memory goes on and gets more wonderful.”
Unique Features and History
The garden is carpeted in wild garlic, and even has a statue of Queen Victoria that Judi took from the 2017 film Victoria & Abdul. She explained: “After the film, the film company said: ‘Would you like her?’ And I said: ‘Do you know, I think I would. I’ve got a very good place for her.’ And indeed I have, because she’s not seen by anybody. She’s very private.”
The grounds are also home to a former coffin maker’s workshop, a 17th-century cottage and an armillary sphere. Judi was able to purchase the property with Michael when the pair landed work on an advertisement for Clover butter.
