Wednesday started off dry and sunny and the weather forecast was good so we set off for Berrington Hall which is only about 20/25 minutes away.
As we pulled into the car park the heavens opened!
Fortunately by the time we had eaten our sandwiches and had a cup of tea the rain had stopped.
You enter the Hall and gardens via a Lodge which resembles a Triumphal Arch.
An avenue of golden clipped yews line the path to the hall and walled garden.
The Berrington Estate was sold by the Cornewall family in 1775 to a Thomas Harley, son of the third Earl of Oxford. The hall was built between 1778 and 1781. Thomas Harley's family had connections with Herefordshire for many years. Harley had made his fortune in London as a banker and government contractor. In 1776 he was elected as MP for Herefordshire.
Thomas Harley had no male heir but in 1781 his second daughter Anne married the son of Lord Admiral Rodney and after his death the estate came into the hands of the Rodney family for 95 years. The estate was sold in 1901, to pay gambling debts, to Frederick Cawley from Lancashire. It came under the care of the National Trust in 1957.
In the next post when I visit the nearby church at Eye we will see memorials to the Harley, Rodney, Cawley and Cornewall families.
While it was dry we decided to walk round the walled garden first.
The walled garden was originally the kitchen garden for the hall but it fell out of use in World War Two as it was too expensive to maintain. The National Trust has replanted part of the garden with orchards using pre C20th varieties of apple with pears trained along the garden walls.
It hasn't been possible in the past to access the Curved Wall Garden but it is now open and in the process of being restored. It was created by Capability Brown in 1783 and is one of only two in existence. It was believed at the time that curved gardens were good for growing fruit and vegetables as the curved walls provided more heat than straight ones.
Back into the Walled Garden
Plants in Walls - Ivy leaved Toadflax
Leaving the Walled Garden we entered the Woodland Walk.
The parkland was created by Capability Brown towards the end of his career.
Behind the iron fence is part of a Ha-Ha commonly used in C18th gardens and landscape. It is a ditch with a fence or wall designed to keep lifestock at bay but allowing an uninterrupted view of the parkland from the house/garden.
Berrington Hall was designed by architect Henry Holland in the new French Neo-Classical style. The Hall has a grand Ionic portico.
Young House Martin peeking from the nest.
It was beginning to look like rain again so rather than risking the walk down to the lake we went into the stables area and had ice creams.
The rain started! So we had a look round the second hand bookshop and then visited the Basement area which housed the kitchen, butler's pantry, housekeeper's room, laundry and store room. When I went in the house last year I hadn't visited this area as I think it was closed.
UGH!!!
I've no idea what this unusual plant is although once I've published the post I'll try google lens - thanks for the help re: that Debbie.
The weather was dry for the rest of the day so when we got back we had a small barbecue.
If you want to see inside the Hall and the "Dress Fit for A King" Exhibition please see a previous post on Berrington Hall Interior
All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).
Reference: Berrington Hall Guide Book
12 comments:
Thank goodness for organisations such as the National Trust and all the work they do in preserving properties and grounds. That is one magnificent walled garden coming back to life. If not for the National Trust, it might have been lost long ago. Lovely photos of all the flowers. Seeing the pink wind anemones reminds me that mine have disappeared, I had both white and pink but now I only have white. I wonder what caused the pink ones to vanish and the white ones remain?
Lovely to see Timothy and I hope he enjoyed an ice cream
Rustic Pumpkin - Thanks so much Debbie. I'd love some of those Japanese anemones my friend before she moved had a front garden full of them. Timothy had great fun :)
I've not visited yet, but hope to. What wonderful kitchen gardens. I always feel at home in them, and also the kitchens. Reckon I was a Cook in a previous life. It sounds like you had a nice time anyway. Any books for you in the 2nd hand bookshop?
Bovey Belle - Thanks so much. I hope you can visit as its lovely there. There was one book on churches but I talked myself out of buying it!!
It's one of the places on my 'would like to visit' list. The walled garden looks wonderful, woodland walk too. I always enjoy the kitchens and working areas of big houses probably more than the formal family rooms. It's been a good year for Japanese Anemones, I've seen so many around this year and ours here are doing well. I read Rustic Pumpkin's comment about the loss of pink ones in her garden, we are the other way round, our white ones have disappeared leaving just the pink. I wonder what the unusual plant is? I hope you can find out:)
Rosie - Thanks so much. Do hope you can visit - Croft Castle is fairly close too and that is really lovely if you haven't been. Found the plant - Google Lens is very useful! Thanks again Rustic Pumpkin for telling me about it. Plant is Indian Pondweed Pytolacca acinosa and toxic to touch so those flowers resembling blackberries are rather unfortunate!!!
Oh that curved walled garden looks fantastic. I've a bit of a thing about old brickwork, stems from seeing the switchback walls and corkscrew chimneys in Norfolk years ago. Interesting the plans for the curved garden site is not to return it to its original use? And that auricula theatre is quite something. I've never had success growing these plants but enjoy the dramatic way of their display.
The Wessex Reiver - Thanks so much Andrew. It is a very unusual wall :) I like auricula theatres too and auriculas. I've bought a few over the years but sadly only one very old has survived which is in the garden when we moved here over 40 years ago now!!
Ugly house, gorgeous garden! I love Capability Brown landscapes and that walled garden is fascinating. I wonder what they will do with it? I hope nothing too modern or wacky. Public gardens are always great by September when all the Dahlias are in bloom. Surprised you had an ice cream though, I was most disappointed - I was expecting cake!
Millymollymandy Thanks :) I don't like the house either - not a fan of neo Classicism! I'd gone to the loo and when I appeared ice creams had been purchased which we ate in the rain! Much prefer cake but NT cakes these days are very expensive :(
It is a while since I visited Berrington, the walled garden is always a joy to see.
CherryPie - Thank you.
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