Walls And Gates To 3 Sides Garden With 2 Urns, About 75M West Of Highnam Court

These garden walls and gates date from the mid-19th century and were designed for T. Gambier-Parry. The walls enclose the garden on three sides, constructed of English garden wall bond brickwork, with terracotta semi-circular tiles, ashlar stone, and render.

The south face, viewed from outside the garden, features a central gateway approximately 2.5 metres high. The gateway piers are constructed of finely jointed brickwork on an ashlar plinth, with a semi-circular brick arch containing a stone keystone. A scrolled broken pediment sits above the arch. The gate itself consists of a single leaf with dog bars, a double middle rail, and a sagging top rail, with spear tops to the bars. Approximately 6 metres in front of the gateway are two terracotta urns, decorated with handles, set on square stone bases. The wall extending to either side has a brick plinth, moulded stone coping, and is divided into four bays by square stone piers with vermiculated ashlar and recessed joints, topped with moulded stone caps featuring gadrooned urns. At the right corner, the wall projects forward by about 2 metres to a further pier; the left corner is obscured by a nearby grotto. The wall then returns, connecting to a gateway aligned with a straight walk leading from the house, but not at a right angle to the wall face. This gateway is flanked by squared, rendered piers with recessed joints and tops similar to those of the south wall. The brickwork within the arch is finely jointed, with a rubbed-brick arch, projecting keystone and plain impost blocks, and a “Dutch” gable with stone copings. The double gate is similar to the south gate, but with a straight top rail that angles down and has scrolled ends.

The wall continues to the north. On the right return, it slopes downwards to a low wall following a rendered pier. The low wall is built from a brick base and three courses of semi-circular tiles, with moulded stone capping, interspersed with sections of brick. It then sweeps upwards to a rendered pier with recessed joints and an urn on top, leading to a double iron gateway. This arrangement is repeated for a further approximately 20 metres, before sweeping up to another rendered pier. The brick walls may incorporate reused materials from an earlier walled garden. The walls, gates, and urns combine to form a group with Highnam Court and the associated grottoes.