Bishopthorpe walled kitchen gardens, their associated brick lean-to buildings and canalised stream

Walled kitchen gardens associated with Bishopthorpe Palace, residence of the Archbishops of York since 1241. The gardens were completed in 1767 for Archbishop Drummond. Between 1767 and 1785, Archbishop Markham added a heated wall measuring 181 feet in length between the larger garden and a smaller garden to the south-east. The canalised stream and lean-to buildings date to either the late 18th century or early 19th century, with 20th-century internal alterations to the buildings. A lean-to shelter at the east end of the brick lean-to buildings in the larger garden, and timber sheds, a lorry container, glasshouse and polytunnel in the smaller garden are modern additions not of special interest.

Materials

The walls and lean-to buildings are constructed of red handmade bricks with stone coping to the walls and pantile roofs to the lean-to buildings.

Plan and Layout

The large rectangular garden has long walls aligned slightly south-west. At the north-west outer corner is a deflecting wing wall. A canalised stream runs slightly off-centre along much of the garden's length. On the north (inner) side of the south wall stands a range of single-storey lean-to work sheds. The larger shed contains two furnaces serving a heated wall; the smaller shed's rear wall also appears to be flued. Originally, lean-to glasshouses stood on the south (outer) side of this wall.

The heated wall—Archbishop Markham's 181-foot flued wall—forms the dividing wall between the two enclosures. The smaller walled garden is approximately rectangular with deflecting wing walls projecting southwards from its outer corners.

Setting

The walled gardens stand close to the west side of Bishopthorpe Road. Bishopthorpe Palace and its pleasure gardens are located between the east side of the road and the River Ouse.

The Garden Walls

The garden walls stand around 12 feet (3.6 metres) high and are built of handmade brick, mostly in Flemish bond, with regularly spaced piers and stone slab coping.

East (Roadside) Wall

The east wall serves both gardens, its brickwork coursing through with two closer piers marking the junction between them. At the left-hand end, the brickwork courses through to a stepped wing wall.

The smaller garden has a segmental-arched pedestrian doorway with a panelled timber door painted blue, positioned to the left in the garden's south-east corner. The large garden has a wide gateway with a chamfered and stopped timber lintel and plank and batten double doors painted blue, located close to the piers' junction in the garden's south-east corner.

South Wall of the Smaller Garden

The south wall is flanked by projecting wing walls. A change in brick colour on the left wing wall indicates that its upper part has been rebuilt or raised to the height of the garden wall. At the centre is a segmental-arched pedestrian doorway, now the main entrance to both gardens, flanked by two piers. The doorway is rebated to the inner side with a stone pintel block and plank and batten door painted blue. A modern metal grille gate is attached to the outer side.

West Wall of the Smaller Garden

The slightly-angled west wall has a bricked-up segmental-arched pedestrian doorway to the left in the garden's north-west corner.

North Wall of the Large Garden

The long north wall has a coursed-through wing wall at the right-hand corner projecting westwards. There are no doorways. The exterior brickwork has a less regular bond, whilst the inner wall shows regular Flemish bond. The stone coping is missing towards the right-hand end, resulting in some loss of brickwork.

West Wall of the Large Garden

The west wall also displays less regular brick bond to the exterior, with regular Flemish bond to the interior, and is missing some stone coping. A bricked-up segmental-arched pedestrian doorway stands to the left in the garden's north-west corner, with a panelled timber door on the inside. Adjacent to the right-hand corner is a full-width, full-height opening with a ramped outer corner.

South Wall of the Large Garden

The long south wall abuts the north-west corner of the smaller garden. The external wall has piers at the left-hand end and a wide gateway with a timber lintel adjacent to the lean-to buildings on the wall's inside. Here the wall thickens on the inside face, forming the back wall of the lower lean-to building.

Evidence of a former lean-to glasshouse appears on the exterior, including disturbance to the brickwork with a vertical scar at each end patched with modern brick. Between these scars runs a high row of soldier bricks and a partial lower row, perhaps relating to a raised bed, with patching at the left-hand end and a low stone lintel for a furnace or flue vent.

To the right, the wall is raised along the length of the taller lean-to building, wrapping round the west corner. Two flues appear on the inside face serving the furnaces within the building. To the left of the flues is a pedestrian doorway with a timber lintel and frame and a modern domestic timber and glazed door. At mid-height to the doorway on both sides, a line of stone flags is set into the brickwork. At the right-hand end, the wall returns to the same height as elsewhere.

The Heated Wall

The dividing heated wall continues the line of the large garden's south outer wall. It stands around 9 feet (2.7 metres) high with a bricked-up segmental-arched pedestrian doorway at its east end. Straight joints in the wall at the west end indicate that originally there was a corresponding doorway at this end also. The wall is built in irregular English garden wall bond with Flemish bond around the doorways.

The entire wall appears to have been subsequently raised to 12 feet (3.6 metres) by the addition of extra courses of brickwork, also in irregular English garden wall bond. An inserted doorway at the centre has a concrete lintel.

The thicker flued wall projects on the north side and has stone coping; the line of coping stones remains visible set into the brickwork on the south side. The south side has a spaced row of iron wall-tie pattress plates, whilst the north side has a number of bricked-up segmental-arched flue vents.

The Worksheds

The range of single-storey lean-to work sheds comprises two buildings, both built of handmade bricks in English garden wall bond (five stretcher courses to one header course). Original openings have segmental-arched gauged brick lintels, and both buildings have pantile roofs.

The larger building to the left is shallower with higher eaves and roof level. From the left it contains an altered or inserted window, two doorways, an inserted window, an altered doorway, an inserted or altered window, and an original window. The left-hand return has a blocked doorway and small window above.

At the right-hand end, the smaller building projects forward with a steeper pantile roof featuring four small rooflights. It has a central doorway with two windows to each side. The right-hand return has a large timber lintel beam over a door and window.

Interior of the Worksheds

Inside, both worksheds have replacement timber roof trusses, purlins and joists. The larger shed has piers to the rear wall and a double furnace with paired bricked-up round-headed fireplaces, a brick hearth floor, and two chimney breasts.

The smaller shed has fourteen regularly-spaced vertical channels in the rear wall, a bricked-up flue vent with stone lintel to the upper part of the wall, and lower down, a square iron cover set into the wall behind which is an iron pipe passing through the wall, likely part of a heating system for the glasshouse.