Garden Terrace Walls and Seats, Minley Manor

Retaining walls to the garden terrace at Minley Manor, 1858-62, by Messrs Veitch in association with Henry Clutton, the north-east return probably remodelled c1908, and the garden seats at either end, dated 1861 and 1908.

MATERIALS: the walls are red brick laid in Flemish bond with limestone dressings, the north-east return in coursed rough-hewn stone. Garden seats are of limestone.

PLAN: the terrace is 120m in length and runs north-east to south-west along the garden-facing elevation of Minley Manor. At either end of the terrace is a semi-circular garden seat. At the east end is a low stone parapet wall supporting a decorative wrought iron screen, gates and overthrow returns from the chapel to the end of the garden terrace.

DESCRIPTION: the retaining wall forms a low parapet wall on the north-west terrace side and rises in height on the parkland side as the lower ground level falls away. The wall has shaped stone copings; square buttress piers at intervals also have stone copings and bases for ornaments. At either end of the terrace the retaining wall terminates in a tall pier of banded brick and limestone, each surmounted by an enriched, probably cast stone, vase finial. An opening part-way along, with a wrought iron gate and overthrow, leads to a short flight of steps within brick and stone parapet walls, descending to the parkland. The wall turns 90 degrees at the east end in the form of a battered bastion, built from coursed rough-hewn stone, presumably part of the later iteration of the terrace, from where steps lead from the terrace to the pleasure grounds.

The matching garden seats have a semi-circular bench with a moulded back and scrolled armrests. The bench ends are enriched with a griffin carved in relief, a motif found elsewhere in the manor complex. The benches sit on a radially paved base with central stones with their dates, 1861 (west) and 1908 (east), inlaid in lead.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURE The return parapet wall from the terrace to the chapel with a decorative wrought iron screen, gates and overthrow.