Garden Walls, Pergolas And Gate To Landscape Garden And To Water Garden At The Green

Garden walls, pergolas, and a gate form part of the landscape garden and former water garden at The Green, Eckington. The structures were designed in 1916 by Sir Edwin Lutyens, likely with input from Gertrude Jekyll, for Sir George Sitwell, Bart.

The water garden is designed as a long, grassed court shaped to fit the ground, running along the central axis of the house, which sits on a raised terrace at the southwest end. Eight stone piers, approximately 3 metres high, line either side of the court, with slightly battered stone revetting between them, rising to about half the height of the piers. Parallel oak beams form a pergola above the revetting. The third bay of revetting from the southwest end is curved outwards to create a semi-circular apse containing a pond. A similar apse with a pond occupies the southwest end of the court, flanked by paired piers and coped at terrace level, with a wrought iron balustrade incorporating alternating plain and twisted balusters. More elaborate balustrades above the piers at the southwest end include gilded decorative elements. Dog-leg flights of steps give access to the water garden from the terrace. Within the court, the three ponds are linked by a continuous, stone-lined water channel. A gate at the northeast end is set between ashlar piers with moulded bases and caps. Decorative wrought iron gates and balustrades, set within coped stone walls, extend from the gate piers to the pergola piers. The gate and balustrades feature alternating plain and shaped balusters with moulded knops on the curved top rails. Stone boundary walls enclose the larger landscaped garden, varying in height between 1.5 metres and 3 metres and featuring half-round and flat copings.