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

SK 4378 SK 4379 11/123 12/123 20.9.85

PARISH OF ECKINGTON SOUTHGATE Garden walls, pergolas and gate to landscape garden and to water garden at The Green

GV II

Garden walls, pergolas, and gateway to the former water garden, and boundary walls enclosing the landscape garden. 1916 by Sir Edwin Lutyens, probably in conjunction with Gertrude Jekyll, for Sir George Sitwell, Bart. Coursed squared coal measures sandstone, some rock faced, with ashlar gatepiers, timber and pergola beams. Water garden designed as a narrow grassed court, cut into the shape of the ground, with its long axis on the centre line of the house, which stands at a higher level on a revetted terrace at the south west end. To either side of the water garden eight stone piers, approximately 3 metres high, with slightly battered stone revetting between each, to about half the height of the piers and carrying parallel oak beams to pergola. The revetting in each of the third bays from the south-west end is curved out to form a semi-circular apse filled with a pond. A similar apse enclosing a pond at the south-west end of the court, pairs of piers to revetting on either side, all coped at terrace level, and surmounted by a wrought iron balustrade with alternating plain and twisted balusters around apse. More elaborate balustrades above the piers to the sides with gilded knops to either side at south-west end, flights of steps in dog-leg plan provide access to water garden from the terrace level. Within the court, the three apsidal ponds are linked by a continuous stone lined water channel or rill. The north-east end of the court is terminated by a gate set between ashlar piers with moulded bases and caps. Decorative wrought iron gate and balustrades on coped stone walls to either side of gate piers link with pergola piers. Gate and balustrades have alternating plain and shaped balusters with several moulded knops on the boldly curved top rails. Attached stone boundary walls to the landscaped garden beyond vary in height between 1.5 metres and 3 metres, with various copings included half round and flat sections. J BROWN, 'GARDENS OF A GOLDEN AFTERNOON', p172, 1982 M TOOLEY, 'THE GARDENS OF GERTRUDE JEKYLL IN NORTHERN ENGLAND', p54, 1982

Listing NGR: SK4325279016