Gardener's House, Oxenfoord Castle

Gardener's House, Oxenfoord Castle

This complex comprises a walled garden with associated buildings dating from the late 18th to early 19th century, substantially remodelled by Mr Gardiner in 1842. The site is laid out as a nearly-square walled kitchen garden with curved and canted angles at the corners, enclosing remnants of an inner walled fruit garden and frameyard containing ranges of lean-to glasshouses and backsheds.

The outer garden walls are constructed of random sandstone rubble with flat ashlar copes to all elevations. The east wall features a moulded dressed ashlar door surround to the north-east and a cart arch to the north. Inner walls of the other elevations and dividing walls are of red brick, formerly heated. A small entrance door in the north-east wall has tabbed quoins and droved margins; a larger cart arch stands at the centre of the north wall, adjacent to a former stove. The arched north-west corner wall follows the contours of the natural slope. The south exterior boundary is formed by shrubs and trees with a high inner wall visible beyond. A surviving gatepier marks the main entrance from the drive, leading to a partially disused and demolished range to the east of the east wall.

Within the garden, a high brick wall runs west to east, separating approximately one-third of the garden to the north (for forcing frames) and open at the east for cart admission, with a central door and further door to the west. Formerly a pair of long glasshouse ranges flanked this wall on the south side, while to the north stood a single storey rubble range of backsheds and further glasshouses for late and hardy varieties. U-plan walls with canted angles to the south-west and south-east adjoin the main east-west wall to the outer flanks of the glasshouses (the east wall is now missing). The south elevation of the high south wall is flanked by a pair of later glasshouse ranges with a wide central entrance to the fruit garden.

The Gardener's House stands at the south-east corner as a single storey, 3-bay cottage with projecting gabled outer bays to the flanks. The principal (west) elevation features a central entrance door and windows to the flanks, with high walls extending above the gable roofline and meeting stepped apex stacks. The left stack extends to meet the rear of the newer left bay. The projecting gabled outer bays date to approximately 1842 and feature 3-side canted bay windows with heavy base course and moulded parapet. The right bay has a skew gable with kneeler putts.

The north elevation comprises a single storey range to the left and centre formerly containing four segmental-headed cart arches, of which the second is in-filled with timber and a large timber door, while the right two have been converted to modern windows. A blind side wall of the projecting bay stands to the right with a single window to the left. The left return is built against the former heated garden wall with an arched pend through to a single storey range. The south (rear) elevation shows the rear of the original single storey cottage with a window to the right bay and a projecting single storey painted brick extension to the centre bay with crow-stepped gable. The rear of the high north range adjoins to the right with lower brick lean-tos adjoining.

The east elevation comprises an advanced blind wall of the projecting bay rising into a central gable, with a blind return to the right; at the centre stands the gabled end of the original cottage with stepped gablehead chimney; and to the right lies the side of the painted brick rear extension.

A single storey range adjoins the house, divided into three sections. The east (principal) elevation comprises a 2-bay section to the left with corrugated roof and boarded timber door with through passage to the right leading into the garden; a 3-bay section at centre with off-centre-right entrance door and irregularly flanked windows; and a former 3-bay bothy to the right with in-filled entrance door but flanking windows remaining. A high wall rises from the right end wall, breaking the roof and supporting stacks. The left return adjoins the gardener's house; the right return forms part of the garden wall and the west (rear) elevation facing into the garden (former frameyard) with much later lean-tos adjoining.

The principal elevation of the cottage displays 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows, while the outer bays have 2 and 4-pane glazing with horned upper sashes. Multi-paned glass (some overlapped) lights the glasshouses and backsheds. The pitched grey slate roof features lead ridging, flashing and valleys to the gardener's house, with some corrugated-iron sheeting to the range roofs. Painted cast-iron rainwater goods serve most elevations. Square ashlar gablehead stacks on stepped bases top the older cottage with ashlar neck copes and tall single cans; plain stacks to the projecting bows carry paired or single cans. Stepped stacks to the south-east heated wall and lower stacks to other walls formerly linked to boilers and stoves for the heated walls.

The walled garden is currently in use as a plant nursery, with the interior wall lean-to stores and remaining glasshouses still in use. The gardener's house remains in use as such, and the single storey range now serves for accommodation and storage.