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BCD Special Report
Historic Gardens 2010
19
Restored formal flower garden at Audley End, Essex
Archaeological excavation confirmed the early 19th-century layout of the parterre with its elaborate pattern of flower beds which have
been reinstated to the original plan.
and condition of any remains, providing
information on the constraints of a site.
The need for this type of sensitive
approach arose with the proposed introduction
of a new garden feature into the 300-year
old formal landscape that the first dukes of
Montagu had created at Boughton House,
near Kettering in Northamptonshire. Since the
intended location lay within an early garden
compartment, a programme of historical
research, on-site survey and archaeological
evaluation was commissioned to identify the
extent of any related remains and to assess the
likely impact upon them. The investigation
included archaeological trial excavation,
which showed that much significant fabric
had been destroyed previously. New use was
therefore permitted for Kim Wilkie’s design
of ‘Orpheus’ to be constructed within the
area of existing disturbance. Its sympathetic
geometry and grass slopes fit neatly into the
inherited landscape, where the outstanding
importance of the original French-inspired
grounds is being recovered through ongoing
repair and reinstatement of the historic
canal system and associated features.
Archaeological investigation and recording
enable us to identify the original methods
of ground preparation and to restore former
profiles, as well as reconstruct previous
layouts and planting arrangements. Excavation
can range in scale from the clearance of a
complete garden plan as preparation for its
reinstatement, to the examination of the
salient points and key features of the grounds.
The first archaeological work in ancient
gardens to reveal the form and nature of their
planting was carried out at Pompeii around
the start of the 20th century. Excavation at
later historic sites soon followed, with pioneer
investigations in Virginia, USA and at Kirby
Hall in England between the two world
wars. However, many earlier restorations
were based upon the interpretation of
historical plans and views without the
benefit of archaeology; or, where there was
investigation, it was largely restricted to the
examination of isolated features, with most
reliance placed on contemporary documents.
Now there is awareness of the value of
tangible remains, and the combination of
clear physical traces and a good historical
record has led to the reconstruction of some
historic gardens with greater accuracy than
was thought possible a few years ago.
At Hampton Court Palace, King
William III’s Privy Garden has been
reconstructed following the original layout
revealed by excavation. Investigation also
determined the relative levels between
the different parts of the garden, using the
evidence of surviving features such as statue
plinths, drain funnels and the original rim
of the fountain basin. The exact positions
of topiary along the terraces could be
reconstructed from the rediscovered tree
pits, while the brick footings for flights
of steps provided an important clue to
terrace profiles and their gradients.
Garden archaeology has been equally
successful in planning accurate reconstruction
elsewhere. At Audley End in Saffron Walden,
Essex, for example, the 1830s flower parterre
has been restored, incorporating planting
based upon a contemporary documented
scheme. Likewise, the reconstruction of
ornamental beds on the East Parterre at Witley
Court, Worcestershire, allows the effects
of WA Nesfield’s planting schemes to be
rediscovered and increases our understanding
of historical gardening techniques. Both are
English Heritage sites, but similar investigation
underpins accurate reconstruction elsewhere.
The scale of individual sites which have
been investigated in this way ranges from
the designed landscapes of country houses to
smaller town gardens and yards from the 18th
century onwards, often with surprising results.
For example, excavations in the backyards of
the ordinary houses in the centre of Colonial
Williamsburg suggest that these had been used
for growing food rather than flower-gardening.
Floor plans have been recovered from a
variety of lost buildings. They range from the
largely ornamental, which were incorporated
into 18th-century landscape gardens like
those at Painshill, Surrey and Hestercombe,
near Taunton in Somerset, to the more
prosaic greenhouses that were used in kitchen
gardens in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Excavation has also uncovered details of
grottos and the waterworks associated with
them, together with more elaborate cascades
like that designed by William Kent, which
was built in about 1738 as the headpiece
for the river in the grounds of Chiswick
House and now recently restored.
Such investigation serves not simply to
guide the future repair and reconstruction
of garden features but also permits a
better understanding of the history and
sociology of garden design. The seeds
so planted will continue to grow.
BRIAN DIX
specialises in the archaeology of
historic parks and gardens, working widely
throughout Europe as well as at British
sites. His article is based on a presentation
given as the eighth Garden History Society
Annual Lecture in February 2010.