Herefordshire' s Hampton Court Sept 12

[lugg]

London of course is home to the infamous Hampton Court Palace. Many will not be aware that there is another, much less famous, and now, much less grand Hampton Court, in Herefordshire.
Hampton Court Castle’s history began in 1427 although of course the land (meadows along the Lugg) was settled long time before. The original manor house was built in 1427. In 1434 the owner was granted a licence to crenellate the house by Henry VI.

The house was then sold to the Conningsby family, generations of who lived there until the early 19th century. It was then bought by the Arkwright family (son of Richard Arkwright who was a key player in England’s Industrial Revolution.) This son also a Richard was mega rich but of humble origins – known as the richest commoner in Europe. The family lived there until the early part of the twentieth century.
During the First World War in common with other similar houses the castle was used as a hospital. Since 1972, the house has changed hands more times than during the previous 550 years put together, the castle and grounds becoming less cared for with each successive owner.

It was rescued by Robert Van Kampen, then one of the wealthiest men in US who bought the castle and grounds in 1994. Under the Van Kampens, the house and gardens received 12 million pounds worth of renovation and improvement. The gardens were opened to the public for the first time in 2000 shortly after Van Kempens' death.

This video on you Tube probably says all of the above but in a more entertaining way.




This weekend was perfect for a short re-visit, great weather and as it is Herefordshire’s Art week, a number of sculptures had been placed for display in the grounds and garden. I did not have time to go in the castle itself so these photos are of the gardens and external views of the castle only.
I love this place and I hope the photos speak for themselves in showing how beautiful it is, even now at the back end of summer, when the flower gardens are past their best. The gardens are made up of several distinct parts .
First- the kitchen garden, which is managed organically.











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A gourd tunnel .





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A gourd shaped decortion , at the end of the tunnel






I never knew that cabbages and broccoli could look so pretty





Lots more to follow...

[htmb]

Oh, yes! I'm so looking forward to seeing more, lugg. I can see right away why you love this place.

[bixaorellana]

I adore this, Lugg! You've truly captured the innate beauty of growing vegetables and certainly the gardens themselves treat them with loving respect. I'm intrigued by how many new world vegetables are featured, along with the lush gorgeousness of the all the mustard family plants. Do you know if the California poppies(?) growing in there with them have a purpose, or just look great? What about the lavendar-flowered plants featured so beautifully in your Pollinators pictures?

Are you responsible for that bite in the pear?

[lugg]

Thank you guys , I am not sure about the poppies Bixa , I suspect that they are there to add colour but mostly to attract pollinators, the Catnip ( Catmint) is commonly seen in Victorian kitchen gardens probably for the same reason, although possibly to keep the cats happy !

Not guilty - my bite is much bigger ;D. Although I did notice one family , the Dad picked up a windfall from an apple tree and gave it to his daughter , unfortunately ( or maybe fortunately ) it was a baker.

[lugg]

Although the kitchen garden has the espaliered fruit trees you might expect in this setting there is also an orchard that is left in a (probably carefully managed ) natural state; weeds , wild flowers etc.
Here is a view looking down over the kitchen garden area, with the orchard in the foreground and the formal area behind.







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I was especially looking for this Mulberry tree,



Its fruit was just ripening



In its perfect setting I found my first sculpture


   



Time to move on, when next ?

[lugg]

I decided my next stop would be the flower gardens






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The smell in the rose garden was heavenly

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I love the way water from the Lugg has been incorporated into this part of the garden























Moving into the Dutch garden I came across a second sculpture. Meet Brunhelde.



I met the sculptures wife and she told me a funny story about the first dragon made by her husband which had been named following a competition for children resulting in
“Colin”. Her husband decided not to leave the name of the second dragon to chance.

[fumobici]

This is fantastic. I don't know about palaces and posh estates but I know a wonderful English garden when I see one. I love the mixture of formal elements, kitchen garden, ornamental plants, whimsy and benign neglect, they reinforce and potentiate each other.

What's the story of your first sculpture?

[auntieannie]

oooh, these are gorgeous gardens! Is there a medicinal garden on the premises as well? (which would explain the californian poppies...maybe?)

[onlymark]

Absolutely delightful lugg. Thanks.

fumobici, a quick research reveals the rabbit theme is on their Heraldic banner. Probably it is because of this.(?)
As with the dragon.

www.flickr.com/photos/karenjbooth/5736699039/

[lugg]

Thank you all.

Fumobici - I am not sure that there is any definate link to Hampton Court with the first sculpture , more the kitchen garden was chosen as the setting, although Mark may be correct. (Thanks Mark for that picure and link)

Many of the sculptures are temporary and are being displayed as part of herefordshires Art week lots of events and displays of art works acrosss the county, varying from settings such as this to displays in suburban garages.

Here is a link to the event
h-art.herefordshire.gov.uk/hartvisithart2012.aspx

Auntieannie - no medicinal garden as such but of course that may be a reason why some plants are placed in the kitchen garden , in common with other Victorian walled gardens , for example there was a section filled with comfrey



The next section will show more of the sculptures

[lugg]

I thought I would go and seek out more sculptures and Mrs Jankowski explained that some more of her husband’s work and that of others were on display in and around the Great Lawns. So leaving the walled gardens I headed in that direction.





This caught my eye first



A scary Lady Macbeth



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A much more gentle image - Romeo and Juliet






There are much clearer views of the castle itself from the lawns




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Did you spot the archers? More about them later…


I thought the setting for this is just about as perfect as possible





 


The cows and bullocks payed no attention to the sculptures or the visitors







Some of the visitors appeared to ignore them too , but what a lovely place to while away some time before lunch



 


…another interesting shape in the distance




A ram made out of scrap ?electrical components




 




This was my absolute favourite out of all the exhibits






Some of course were much smaller and consequently possibly more commercial , these also made by Jankowski




   









Hope you all enjoyed this part which was not so much about the gardens themselves. please look again when you ge chance because ( for me ) the best part of the garden is yet to come.
( The Sunken garden )

[bixaorellana]

This is a wonderful tour. Can't wait for more!

You're right that the rabbit is perfectly placed.

Usually I'm more drawn to the messy parts of gardens, but I'm head over heels in love with the water feature in this one. They've done an amazing job of incorporating old and new, modern and traditional throughout, from what you've shown.

That first view in #10 is romantically perfect. I have to say that the ram is one of my favorite things in this thread. It's all great -- thanks, Lugg!

[bjd]

Those gardens with the brick walls and teak benches are my perfect image of a garden, on whatever scale.

I also really like the use of the water from the river.

[Deleted]

Really wonderful pictures of the gardens. I particularly like the brick water features.

By the time you got to the castle, I forgot there was even supposed to be one.

[lugg]

Thank you guys

Yes, kind of, K2 - I did not go in this time but from recollection it is the outside grounds which are impressive , however I do have some more external views and will go back another day and get some pics of the inside.

[lugg]

The Sunken Gardens
These gardens are just simply my favourite part and beloved by children as well as a fantasy playground.
I have searched in vain to try to discover if this part of the garden is newly created or has just been restored .The info is not that clear.
I will leave it to you to judge for yourselves.

On my way back toward the sunken gardens I stopped to look at this wish tree,



Some of the wishes I remember having when was a young child,
I hope hers are granted like mine were (although after 40 years of mucking out and getting up at 5am on a winter morning I am tempted to add .... be careful of what you wish for)




I can empathise with both of these now …

   

This metalwork is not part of H’Art but permanent
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The playground was empty , so much else to occupy the children in the gardens and grounds themselves, the yew trees seen above , being part of that.



Another permanent resident ...carved from a tree stump,




finally I reached the entrance ,


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It was a warm day in the bright sun but here in the trees it was much cooler and darker allowing these cyclamen to thrive
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The watery nature becomes more evident, as you go down slope










After crossing the stepping stones the water garden at the bottom comes into view and a little of its history








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This entrance is one of the reasons why so many children love this part of the gardens





I did brave it myself - all for the sake of this report

[lugg]

Next to the waterfall is another doorway which leads into a tunnel



As you enter the light disappears and the screams ( of delight) of children as they enter are apparent



( I guess I could post the above on Mark’s darkness thread in images )

   




The camera flash reveals more than I could see,



At the end of the tunnel are some stairs leading up to the top of a gothic folly,

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On the way up there are glimpses of the maze which surrounds this tower and I meet a number of people who are on their way up so they can shout instructions to their family below.



From the top there is a good view of the maze which is made of (1000) yew trees and also the castle and grounds



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The folly at the centre of the maze,

[lugg]

Before I left I wanted to get some pics of the castle itself and so for the best views I needed to leave the gardens behind and head to the front

I watched these archers for a little while, I think the fun is in the doing rather than as a spectator.

   








I did not stay to watch the prize giving



Pics taken at the front of the castle


The grand entrance









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Time for home

As I went back through the kitchen garden to the exit I spotted a final sculpture that I had missed earlier

[Deleted]

Definitely a totally marvellous place. It just goes on and on, doesn't it?

[bixaorellana]

Ah ~~ I came back to the thread to enjoy it again & see I didn't comment on this wonderful last section. It's a fabulous report, Lugg, with the beautiful pictures and the way you make it feel as though we're actually travelling through the grounds.

I can see why you liked the sunken gardens so much -- such a timeless feel to them, and so delightfully hidden that they seem part of a magic land.

Looking back through the thread, I see that the gardens were first opened to the public in 2000, after what must have been an enormous infusion of money & effort. Seeing the yew maze alone (1000 yews!) puts in perspective how necessary paying visitors are to this type of garden. But what rewards in terms of beauty and of having such huge unoccupied green areas!

[lugg]

Thank you Bixa - glad you came back and saw the sunken gardens. The huge amount of money spent by the Van Kampen trust is certainly paying dividends today.

[Deleted]

Does one pay to see this, or do the various concessions generate enough revenue?