Walls Enclosing Privy Garden Immediately To South Of The Inner Court Of Thornbury Castle

Walls Enclosing Privy Garden Immediately to South of the Inner Court of Thornbury Castle

These garden walls partly date from circa 1511–21, with later restoration and alterations, and partly from the 19th century. They are built of stone rubble, including pennant, lias and limestone, with ashlar dressings. The western portion stands 4–5 metres high, while the eastern portion is about a metre lower. The embattled parapet features an ashlar coping on the eastern portion.

The walls form a rectangular enclosure oriented west to east, narrowing towards the west. The southern range of Thornbury Castle's inner court (itself listed at Grade I) completes the north-western portion of the enclosure. The walls immediately south of the south range enclose the privy garden; the eastern section, enclosing the area known as the 'goodly garden', is slightly lower. The walls have undergone considerable repair and rebuilding throughout their history. The north-west portion of the eastern section was built following the demolition of the medieval east range and the Duke of Bedford's lodgings, which formerly occupied this area. The two parts of the garden were originally divided by a two-storey timber cloister, which ran southwards from the south-east corner of the castle's south range and continued around the southern and eastern garden walls, meeting the south range again at its south-west corner.

Western (Privy Garden) Walls

This portion features extra internal coped buttressing, probably relating to the lost gallery. The position of the upper storey of the gallery is indicated by window and door openings punctuating the walls, and by first-floor door openings at the west and east ends of the castle's south range.

In the western wall are cusped, four-centred arched windows in pairs, with a group of three pairs separated by moulded brackets to the south and two pairs separated by a buttress further north.

A 1732 engraving of the castle by S and N Buck indicates significant alterations to the south wall of the privy garden since that date. At the centre of the south wall is a triangular gable, not shown in the Buck engraving, which has been heightened. Below this is a doorway believed originally to have given access to a raised walkway leading across the churchyard to the church's east end. The limestone doorcase has a four-centred arch with hollow spandrels; the lower parts of the frame appear to have been replaced, and bars have been inserted in the opening. The south wall also contains three five-light canted oriel windows—one to the west and two to the east—with a concave moulding to the lights on the inner, northern side. The oriel to the east of the central doorway has a stone-tiled roof, while in those furthest west and furthest east the arches are exposed. Buck's engraving shows the openings sheltered by small roofs, but an 1832 survey drawing made under the direction of A W N Pugin of the easternmost example indicates that at that time the windows were crowned by crenellations. Below the easternmost window is a four-centred arched doorway in a moulded frame with a hoodmould. Evidence in the stonework between the central doorway and the window to its east, on the northern face of the wall, appears to indicate the presence of a blocked ground-floor opening, though there is no evidence of this on the southern face. A continuous moulded string runs along the south elevation of the south wall.

Eastern (Goodly Garden) Walls

The lower eastern portion of the walls abuts the southern privy garden wall at its eastern end and continues around the area known as the 'goodly garden' to join the south range of the inner court at its eastern end. A wide pointed-arched opening provides access between the inner court and the privy garden; this arch and its surrounding wall are thought to date from the 19th century. Immediately to the east of this archway the wall turns northwards for a short distance, before turning at a right angle to continue eastwards. Set in the short westward face is a small arched doorway with hollow spandrels, apparently belonging to the castle's early 16th-century phase. However, the western section of the garden's north wall is later than the rest of the wall, having been built to fill the gap left by the demolition of the east range and its associated buildings; a straight joint marks the junction of the two phases approximately 18 metres to the east of the south range.

At the southern end of the eastern wall is a small door opening, which originally led to an area occupied by orchard. Set within the walls at this end of the garden enclosure are pointed-arched bee boles, approximately 1 metre above ground level and 4 metres apart. A small stone single-storey structure with a lean-to roof, a doorway and a small arrow-loop window occupies the south-east corner of the walls; this is thought to post-date 1921, replacing an earlier structure. Built against the north wall towards the west of the goodly garden is a small timber-framed garden shelter in Arts and Crafts style with a lean-to roof of Cotswold stone.

Wall at South-West Boundary of Outer Court

Attached to the south-west end of the western garden wall is a lower wall, shown on the Buck 1732 engraving, which forms the northern boundary between the castle grounds and the churchyard; this extends westwards as far as the western drive, where it connects with the western churchyard wall.