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18
Historic Gardens 2010
BCD Special Report
Garden of the Solovetsky Monastery in the White Sea,
Russia
A favourable microclimate supported the creation
of a remarkable garden in the early 19th century, equipped
with hotbeds and greenhouses as well as other growing
areas. Their remains can be identified together with older
features and evidence of later use as a Soviet gulag.
the landscape may have been manipulated
to impress, or even overawe the visitor. The
recognition, careful recording and accurate
reinstatement of such traces can therefore
revive an important visual amenity as seen
both from the house and within the park.
An example of this type of rediscovery
can be found in the Home Park at Hampton
Court, Surrey, where the avenue-system
currently being restored is part of an
impressive Baroque landscape that originally
radiated from Sir Christopher Wren’s
new palace built for King William III and
Queen Mary II. It incorporated the earlier
planting of a double row of lime trees that
had been laid out on each side of the broad
canal known as the Long Water, which was
created to the east of the palace in 1661.
They have also been recently replanted
using the historical positions and thereby
reproducing the slight inaccuracy of the
previous setting out. But clearly this did not
matter since the visual appearance looks right.
Conservation issues
In the United Kingdom it is now
commonplace for archaeological assessment
to underpin most bids for funding the
repair and reuse of historical sites. The
fundamental contribution of archaeology to
good conservation management is widely
recognised abroad too, with pertinent studies
being carried out in historic parks and
gardens from Russia to Romania and Ukraine
to the United States, for example, as well
as in other parts of Europe and the rest of
the world. Individual sites extend from the
hanging terraces of a monastic garden on the
island of Solovki, at the edge of the Russian
Arctic Circle, to Sotterley Plantation on the
banks of the Patuxent River, USA, where
traces of an earlier layout are preserved in
the lawns beside an early colonial mansion.
In Britain, with a tradition of field
observation beginning in the 16th century,
the sites of abandoned gardens have been
recognised in such increasing numbers that
they now form one of the most common types
of archaeological site. Their examination ranges
from the analysis of medieval settings through
the rediscovery of Renaissance splendour and
Baroque grandeur to the investigation of 18th-
and 19th-century designed landscapes, together
with later public parks and cemeteries.
By revealing the nature of past gardens and
how they developed across time, archaeological
study also acknowledges their frequent
transformation through the natural stages of
growth and decay and there are many instances
where we should opt for preserving the quality
of repose that comes with age. However,
restoration and reconstruction can aid
positive conservation if the historical elements
(canals, drains, paths, borders, tree pits, etc)
are repaired and re-used. Indeed, for many
modern visitors, the enjoyment of an historic
garden is heightened by the reintroduction of
original plant varieties and correct planting to
give living form to otherwise esoteric elements.
Excavating historic gardens
Whereas the lost features of a garden may
often be identified through the historical
record and by using geophysical survey and
other non-intrusive techniques, archaeological
excavation is the only method of establishing
their actual character and history, particularly
where no documents survive. In addition
to being an essential stage of subsequent
repair or reconstruction, excavation can be
further employed to evaluate the extent
Tully Castle, County Fermanagh
A new garden in the style of an early 17th-century one now occupies the site of the walled
courtyard or ‘bawn’ on the south side of the castle that burned in 1641.
Avenues beside the Long Water, Hampton Court
Recording and analysis of lost tree positions enabled the
historical arrangement to be recovered, forming the basis for
accurate replanting.