Pulhamite Cascade, Stepping Stones And Bridge In Water Garden, Dunorlan Park

Pulhamite cascade, stepping stones and pedestrian bridge in water garden, Dunorlan Park

A cascade, stepping stones and footbridge constructed circa 1854 to 1864 by the firm of James Pulham for Henry Reed at Dunorlan Park. The materials are sandstone and Pulhamite artificial stone.

At the eastern end of the lake, water is forced through a small circular aperture under a path to form a cascade. This flows against a naturalistic composition of sandstone and Pulhamite rocks approximately 30 feet wide and 15 feet high, which incorporates planting compartments and 14 steps leading from the upper to the lower level. The cascade flows into a larger pool from which a meandering stream leads eastwards with a series of Pulhamite rocks forming stepping stones. At the eastern extremity of the stream is a moulded Pulhamite footbridge, about 8 feet long by 7 feet wide, with a low arch and roll moulded parapet terminating in low moulded square piers at each end.

In 1823, John Ward, a partner of Decimus Burton in the development of villas in Calverley Park, bought Calverley Farm, which included the site of a chalybeate spring. He constructed a lake on the farm for recreational purposes. In 1854 the farm was sold to Henry Reed, who had made his fortune in Tasmania. Reed demolished the farmhouse and built a new house, Dunorlan, in Italianate style. The grounds were laid out by Scottish landscape gardener Robert Martock (1811–1890), and James Pulham was commissioned to provide Pulhamite rockwork, a cascade, a fountain in Pulhamite and terracotta, a Grecian temple, and probably to extend and reshape the lake. The firm completed the scheme in 1864. Although the water garden features are not specifically marked on the 1867 Ordnance Survey map, the lake is shown passing through a narrow aperture at the eastern end and a path is shown rising above a stream at the eastern end of the water garden, confirming that the cascade, stepping stones and bridge were in place by that date.

Pulhamite rockwork was developed by James Pulham (c.1820–98), son of one of the pioneers of Portland cement manufacture. In the 1840s he began to use this cement as an ingredient in ornamental artificial rockwork. Masses of clinker and scrap brickwork were assembled, cement was poured over them, and they were moulded into boulder-like formations. Various surface finishes produced highly convincing and varied artificial rock types. The firm of Pulham produced not only naturalistic rockeries but also ornaments such as classically styled fountain basins in moulded terracotta. Pulham's creations became a major feature of many mid and late Victorian garden designs.

In 1874 Henry Reed sold Dunorlan to the Collins family, in whose ownership it remained until 1945 when Tunbridge Wells Borough Council purchased the site. The main house, Dunorlan, was badly damaged by fire in 1946 and demolished in 1958. A major restoration of Dunorlan Park took place in 2003–4 following a Heritage Lottery Fund award of £2.1 million.