the Royal Signals and the Royal Army Medical Corps, and Nissen huts were sited in the garden and woods. In 1941, Canadian troops moved in, firstly the Quebecois unit, the Régiment de la Chaudière. In 1942 the house and garden became the headquarters for the Royal Canadian Artillery. The local Home Guard also trained at the park. The impact of the presence of the military on the estate was significant, and although Soames attempted restoration work in the post-war period, he ultimately sold the estate to a property company in 1953. In 1954, the National Trust purchased 81 hectares (200 acres) of the property, an acquisition that was limited by the funds available to the Trust at the time. In 2007 the Trust purchased an additional 100 hectares (250 acres) . Gardens The gardens originally formed part of the estate of the adjacent Sheffield Park House, a gothic country house, which has remained in private ownership since the 1953 sale of the estate. The gardens are particularly noted for their plantings of trees selected for autumn colour, including many Black Tupelos. It is home to the National Collection of Ghent azaleas. In 2005, education programmes undertaken by schools on the estate, were presented to the House of Commons, Education and Skills Committee, by the organisation Education Outside the Classroom. On film The estate was used for exterior shooting in the 1961 film, The Innocents, where it served as the Gothic Bly Manor, the setting of the Henry James novella, The Turn of the Screw. See also Sheffield Park is a railway station on the heritage Bluebell Railway. Sheffield Park, Uckfield, the cricket ground. References External links Sheffield Park Garden information at the National Trust Gardens in East Sussex National Trust properties in East Sussex Country houses in East Sussex Gardens by Capability Brown Woodland gardens