Walls enclosing nursery gardens and ride to Beckford's Gate

These walls enclose the former nursery gardens and a ride associated with William Beckford (1760-1844), dating from around 1825-1830 and involving the architect Henry Edmund Goodridge (1797-1864). The walls are built of coursed limestone rubble.

The walls define an irregular polygonal area, with straight sides to the north, west, and south, and a curved eastern side, formerly Beckford’s Ride. The garden area is terraced to the east, north, and west, rising in two stages to the north, featuring a wider lower terrace and a narrower upper terrace. The eastern and western terraces become less pronounced towards the south, leveling with the ground at Upper Lansdown Mews.

The eastern walls alongside Beckford’s Ride are approximately 2m high and 140m long, varying in height and construction. The north-facing walls, around 70m long, are of squared rubble stone with later buttresses, forming revetments to the two raised terraces. At the western end, stone steps with wreathed balustrades lead to the upper terrace and walk, likely designed by H E Goodridge. The upper terrace, leading to an embattled gateway, has a coped stone wall with steps for access from a garden above. The eastern wall is substantial, featuring round-headed arches, some now blocked, with vaults behind. To the west, the terrace wall extends from a cottage adjoining the north-western corner of the gardens. The approximately 3m high wall runs straight south but is interrupted at the southern end by a later building. Lower walls enclose four sides of Dixon Gardens, revetting the terraces on three sides. The lower wall gradually rises to about 1m above the terrace ground level and is truncated, with the rear boundaries of 1-3 Dixon Gardens marked by fencing instead of walling. A boundary wall completes the circuit to the south, with a pedestrian opening and iron lintel providing access to the western terrace. A wider opening allows access to Dixon Gardens, with some rebuilding of the remaining walls on either side.