East And West Courts And Linking South Boundary Wall Of Formal Garden At Barrow Court

The East and West Courts and the linking south boundary wall of the formal garden at Barrow Court were designed around 1890 by F. Inigo Thomas. The walls of the two courts are made of squared and coursed rubble, while the garden wall is constructed from rubble with dressed stone copings. The courts feature ashlar quoins and archways, along with iron railings. Each court has round-arched entrances that lead to the North Lawn and a cross axis path along the north boundary of the Rose Garden.

The arches in the East Court have simple roll mouldings and hipped Lutyens-style caps, while the West Court arches are more elaborate, adorned with foliage friezes, attached Ionic pilasters, and bracketted keystones. The south wall of the East Court includes a lean-to stone tiled canopy supported by carved wooden brackets, and its east wall has an inset ashlar panel featuring a carved cartouche and high relief fruit and flower swags. Below this is a plank settle with a hood and an ashlar table on large balusters.

The south and west walls of the West Court have a continuous settle that is sheltered by a wooden round-arched loggia of Jacobean style. Both courts feature ramped walls leading up to the archways, with simple iron railings between and corner obelisk finials, as well as 12 steps descending to the Lawn. The linking boundary wall also serves as a churchyard wall on the east side and a wall for the Rose Garden on the south and west sides. These elements, along with several others, create a fine formal garden layout designed by Thomas for Henry Martin Gibbs, which is included in the Historic Gardens Register: Part 1 Avon.