Walled Garden Walls To Walled Garden With Gates Including The Satyr Gate And Corner Piers

The walled garden walls at Castle Howard, which include gates such as the Satyr Gate and corner piers, were built in the early 18th century by Sir John Vanbrugh and were extended to the west between 1744 and 1773. The Satyr Gate, constructed in 1705, features carving by Sam Carpenter. The walls are made of brick on the north, east, and south sides, while the west side is built from hammer-dressed limestone. The structure measures approximately 250 metres by 150 metres and includes corner piers and major gateways located at the midpoints of the north, west, and south walls. The Satyr Gate is located about 20 metres from the north-east corner of the north wall. The walls stand approximately 4 metres tall and are topped with coping stones.

The Satyr Gate is a rusticated round-arched gateway adorned with carved satyrs on the exterior and lions' masks on the interior, beneath a ramped keyed cornice and topped with carved flower baskets. The gate features scrollwork and an elaborate overthrow. The west gate has piers that rise about 6 metres high, showcasing chisel-tooled banded rustication, a moulded cornice, and octagonal finials on stepped bases. The wrought-iron gates here are dated 1894. The north and south gates have piers approximately 5 metres tall, featuring pulvinated rustication, acanthus friezes, and moulded cornices, topped with bead-rimmed urns that have foliate scrolls around their bases. The north gate includes plain standards, dog bars, and a foliate overthrow. Additionally, there is a lead faun's head as a water spout on the internal face of a minor entrance in the north wall. The corner piers are cruciform in plan, approximately 5 metres tall, with rusticated columns, moulded cornices, pyramidal caps, and pineapple finials.