Walled Garden at Prinknash Park

Summary

A late-18th century or early-19th century walled garden, built during a period of secular occupation of Prinknash Park, an abbatial landholding. The garden has a highly unusual sub-elliptical plan.

Reasons for Designation

The walled garden at Prinknash Park is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* Surviving walled gardens retaining a significant proportion of its historic fabric are rare and especially those built before 1850;
* This walled garden has a highly unusual subelliptical plan form, representing an even rarer subset of the type;
* the garden walls survive well, with mixed materials and architectural detailing providing evidence of associated garden buildings along the northern arc.

History

In the medieval period Prinknash was an abbatial manor, and after the dissolution of the monasteries was emparked and used by Gloucestershire's gentry and nobility. Monastic occupation returned in 1928 when it was gifted to the Benedictine community of Caldey Island, off Tenby, South Wales.

The walled garden was built during the period of secular ownership. It was not shown on the 1775 estate plan, which instead shows a rectangular garden to the north of the present subelliptical enclosure. This is understood to be a proposal, never built. Bryant’s Map of the County of Gloucester (1823-1824 ) is the first to show the garden; it is depicted as a circular feature, with a gap along the south-west arc. The first edition of the Ordnance Survey (1884) is the first accurate depiction, showing it in its subelliptical form with a series of paths and garden buildings. The reason for the choice of shape is unconfirmed.

Sales particulars of 1884 describe the garden buildings at that time, which included a 60ft-long peach house; a copper conservatory with iron plant stage; a vinery; stove and fernery; cucumber and melon house and a plant house, all heated from one boiler. There was also a sunken water tank, with ancillary structures in the outer yard. Following the sale of the estate, in 1888, a gardener’s cottage, now known as Prior’s Croft, was built on the site of a former cattle yard, to the north-east.

Details

Walled garden, dating to between 1775 and 1823, possibly incorporating earlier fabric.

MATERIALS: red brick laid in Flemish bond, with one section in roughly hewn and coursed limestone.

PLAN: subelliptical, with the remains of garden buildings to the north.

DESCRIPTION: the wall ranges from approximately 2.2m to 3m in height. Largely of two stages, where the narrower upper stage of approximately 0.6m stands above a soldier course of offset brick tiles. Original bullnose brick copings survive in some sections; elsewhere copings replaced by blue brick slabs. Areas of rebuilding and repointing using inconsistent materials. South-west side with lower section of walling, without the upper stage. Raking buttresses against the exterior of the wall at various points along its circumference.

Historic maps show several garden buildings and glasshouses against the interior and exterior of the northern arc of the wall. The wall in this area was originally internal, contained by the buildings, and is mostly limestone with some brick along the top, and shows evidence of reconfiguration. The lower part of the wall has four blocked doorways, some of which would have opened into lean-to buildings built against the outside of the perimeter wall. These were probably the potting shed, fruit room and potato house mentioned in sales particulars; their footings are still visible. Reconfigured northern opening adjacent to the corner of a former glass house, the north-west corner of which has dressed flat-chamfered limestone quoins. Further quoins occur at the base of a former entrance where the perimeter wall misaligns to the east. Southern doorway in rough brick cambered arch opening. Two openings inserted on the east side; a wide opening, adapted from a narrower doorway, whose projecting cambered arched head survives on the outward elevation. Slightly to the north is a narrower doorway with a rough brick cambered arch.

Collapsed section to the north-east rebuilt to include a new entranceway with dressed limestone piers.

Sources

Other
Bryant’s Map of Gloucestershire, 1824, GRO SR 31/38530, Gloucestershire Heritage Hub
Prinknash Park: landscaping plan, Armitage, 1775, Birmingham Archives & Heritage Service
Sales Particulars, 1884, GRO RX241.1GS Gloucestershire Heritage Hub

End of official list entry