Monument record 3320/3/38 - Early Formal Gardens to East of Castle Ashby (The East Garden)

{1} In the C17 the gardens lay mainly east and north of the house, and when John Evelyn visited in 1688 he was entertained under the open loggia overlooking the east garden. He noted that the house’s gardens were currently being enlarged, and licence was obtained to take part of the churchyard into the garden. The iron park gate, probably at the eastern extremity of the garden, was ‘very good work, wrought in flowers painted blue and gilded.’ This was almost certainly by the ironsmith Thomas Warren (d 1739) who is buried in the churchyard. Subsequently the remains of almshouses were removed and in 1695 the greenhouse, possibly designed by the quarrelsome William Talman (d 1719), was erected on the south side of the churchyard. In his description of Castle Ashby published in 1712 Morton noted that the gardens ‘are now laid out according to the best modern manner now in use, and well furnished with greens, flowers, etc’. Tillemans’ drawing of 1719 shows the main east parterre garden, with a central path, urns, and beds with conical and lollipop trees to the north and south. The gardens’ full extent is shown on a map of 1760, which shows how the house lay centrally against the west side of 200m square gardens laid out, proportionally, in what was basically nine compartments arranged 3 x 3, with the church occupying the middle of the three southern compartments and with a demi-lune projection in the centre of the east side.
Lancelot Brown (1716 83) is believed (Stroud 1975, 107 9) to have greatly simplified the existing layout in the 1760s, flattening and grassing over the formal gardens.

<1> English Heritage, 1994, Register of Parks & Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England (1994, Northamptonshire), (unchecked) (Report). SNN1324.

Record last edited

Feb 7 2011 2:03PM