Building record 3321/0/9 - The Knucklebone Arbour, Castle Ashby (Formerly Margaret’s Bower)

Garden building. Mid/late C18. Timber with stepped conical thatch roof. Circular.

{1} Garden building. Mid/late C18. Timber with stepped conical thatch roof. Circular. The arbour takes the form of a small rustic rotunda with slender circular posts covered with bark to give an effect of fluting, with plain bases and bark capitals and frieze. One half is open, the other half has split trunk rustic planks between posts and low semi-circular bench within. Patterned floor of pebbles and sheep's 'knuckle-bones'. Overhanging eaves. The arbour looks out across the park back towards Castle Ashby and is approached by a walk through the boundary plantation, separated from park by a ha-ha. It probably forms part of Capability Brown's improvements to park and garden. (Castle Ashby park and gardens are included in HBMC Register of Parks and Gardens for Northamptonshire at Grade I).

{3} At the south end of Park Pond the path turns east, running 200m uphill through the belt of ornamental woodland which extends to the park boundary before turning north-east for a further 200m. At the north end of the woodland the ha-ha projects west, and set within this bastion, against a backdrop of yew, box, and laurel, is the Knucklebone Arbour (listed grade II), a conical rustick seat with a thatched roof and a patterned floor of pebbles and sheep’s knuckle bones. It was built in 1815 and was known at first as Margaret’s Bower. This is open to the front, and has a view west, across Park Pond, to the Castle. Equally, it provides an eyecatcher from the Castle’s gardens.

{4} Undated photo;

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 6/46 (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), F12 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN45262.

<3> English Heritage, 1994, Register of Parks & Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England (1994, Northamptonshire), (unchecked) (Report). SNN1324.

<4> Photographs of buildings in Castle Ashby (Photographs). SNN111838.

Record last edited

Aug 2 2021 4:05PM