Walls to sunken garden approximately 130 metres south west of Balls Park Mansion is a Grade II listed building in the East Hertfordshire local planning authority area, England. Garden walls.

Walls to sunken garden approximately 130 metres south west of Balls Park Mansion

WRENN ID
open-doorway-nettle
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
East Hertfordshire
Constituency
Hertford and Stortford MP: Josh Dean (Lab)
Country
England
Type
Garden walls
OS grid reference
TL 334 118
Coordinates
51.7892, -0.06613
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The walls to the sunken garden, located approximately 130 meters southwest of Balls Park Mansion, date from around 1910. They consist of two levels of red brick retaining walls topped with York stone caps. The design features an axial arrangement influenced by Gertrude Jekyll, with steps in the center of each side and a circular central bed that was formerly a pool. The perimeter of the garden includes curved benches made of stacked tile-creasing with Portland stone seats. There is also a smaller bench of similar construction outside the garden near the north gates, which has a Portland stone tablet inscribed 'Ben's Garden'. At the north entrance, there is a pair of wrought-iron scrollwork gates, possibly reset, while the south entrance features a single dwarf gate set in coursed rubble piers.

Historically, the sunken garden was created after Sir George Faudel Phillips acquired Balls Park in 1901. His eldest son, Benjamin, was responsible for the restoration and enhancement of the gardens. Benjamin inherited the property and title in 1922 but passed away in 1927. The seat in the garden was installed in his memory by his younger brother, Lionel.

Local climate

Walls to sunken garden approximately 130 metres south west of Balls Park Mansion sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 88% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 84% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 33 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 55% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Screen and garden gate 40m west of Balls Park Mansion Grade II 115 m
  2. Balls Park Grade I 158 m
  3. Former north west service and kitchen wing to Balls Park Mansion Grade II 170 m
  4. Walls to walled gardens south-east of Balls Park Mansion Grade II 179 m
  5. Gardener's Cottage in walled gardens south east of Balls Park Mansion Grade II 211 m
  6. Lodge and Attached Gates and Screen Walls Grade II 462 m
  7. Garden Wall to North of Jenningsbury Grade II 673 m
  8. Jenningsbury Grade II 680 m
  9. Dunkirk Farmhouse Grade II 775 m
  10. Pearson Memorial at All Saints Cemetery Grade II 779 m