Pulhamite rockery at Milton Mount Gardens (former Worth Park gardens)

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MILTON MOUNT AVENUE Pulhamite rockery at Milton Mount Gardens (former Worth Park gardens)

01-MAY-08

II Garden rockery, constructed c.1884-1887 by the firm of James Pulham and Son as part of the gardens constructed by them for Sir Francis Abraham Montefiore at Worth Park. Pulhamite cement over a core of clinker and scrap brickwork.

DESCRIPTION: This was sited to the north east of the former main house, Worth Park, which was demolished in the 1960s. It comprises a naturalistic composition in Pulhamite artificial rock, about 5ft projecting above ground level and 40ft to 50ft long, the upper part containing planting compartments. The east or rear side also has some exposed brickwork.

HISTORY: The area occupied by Worth Park and its gardens was originally part of the forest of Worth, part of the Warenne lands since the Norman Conquest. The 1840 tithe map refers to a property called "Worth Park estate" but the original house was destroyed by fire three years later. In its place a mansion, shown on the 1879 Ordnance Survey map was built by Joseph Mayer Montefiore, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Joseph Mayer’s mother Henrietta was the sister of Nathan Mayer Rothschild, founder of the British branch of this international Jewish banking dynasty, and his father Abraham was the brother of Sir Moses Montefiore, who is regarded as the most prominent Jewish figure in Britain in the C19. Between 1884 and 1887 his son Sir Francis Abraham Montefiore rebuilt and extended the mansion, built a new stable block and at the same time employed the firm of James Pulham and Son to construct the gardens. These were laid out on four levels to accommodate a sloping site, utilising the firm's Pulhamite artificial rock and pre-cast garden architectural ornaments made of stone-coloured terracotta material. The Pulhamite rockery is one of the most substantial of these original 1880s garden features.

SOURCES: "Country Life" Sept. 30th 1899. pp.400-05.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: * This 1880s Pulhamite rockery survives in good condition and is of similar scale to other recommended Pulhamite structures in the former gardens of Worth Park. * It is one of a series of substantial remaining garden structures constructed by the firm of James Pulham within Worth Park, later Milton Mount Gardens. * It is situated within a publicly accessible landscape which is of local interest.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Enhancement on 29/04/2019