Spring bedding display completes East Parterre makeover at Witley Court

A five-year garden restoration project at Witley Court, near Worcester, has reached a colourful conclusion just in time for Easter, when its first display of spring flowers will be at their best. English Heritage archaeologists, historians and horticulturalists have worked closely together to bring William Andrews Nesfield’s original 1852 design of the East Parterre back to life in a stunningly visual work of art, merging sketches, old photographs and plans with real archaeological evidence that had lain below the soil, and original lists of plants that were used in the garden.

Bedding, using colourful plants introduced from all over the world, was very fashionable in Victorian times and indicated a family’s wealth, so it was an essential component of the garden’s design, as head gardener, Richard Squires, explains: “The whole ethos of the East Parterre was about showing off and throwing money at the display – it was intended to be a really showy garden. There’s even one story of how the gardeners worked all night to change one particular bedding display so that when the guests woke up the next morning they would see something different! It’s been a long project because we wanted to make sure the archaeology had been done properly, and at times I wish I’d had 25 gardeners like the Earl of Dudley, but to see it restored to its original glory is just wonderful.”

The East Parterre had been lost since the house was abandoned after a disastrous fire in 1937, and the once neatly trimmed four-inch high box hedging, which effectively drew out the ornate scrollwork pattern, had grown into a two metre high shrubbery. New hedging has been created from over 19,000 cuttings taken from the original box, so they all have the same genetic material and date back to those that Nesfield planted.

Replacing the different coloured gravels that make up the coloured blocks between the hedging posed a different challenge.

“In trying to make this as close to the original design as possible, we have been looking for just the right kind of aggregates to match up with samples unearthed by the archaeologists,” says Richard. “White quartz and green slate were fairly easy to source, but the terracotta gravel was actually made from broken tiles, so getting the material, colour and consistency right has been a matter of trial and error, but it has been worth it!”

The spring planting of the East Parterre includes varieties of plants that would have graced the gardens during Witley Court’s Victorian heyday: orange, red and golden coloured wall flowers, Myosotis, commonly known as Forget-me-nots, and three varieties of tulips - purple Van der Neer, bright red Keizerskroon and crimson Couleur Cardinal.

The eye-catching display will be at its best from mid-April to mid-May. Prices are £6.30 for adults, £5.70 for concessions, £3.80 for children or £16.40 for a family ticket (two adults and up to three children). English Heritage members get in free.

For more details, please call Witley Court on 01299 896636 or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/witleycourt
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Notes to editors: If you would like to take a tour with Richard Squires, please contact Jay Commins on 0113 251 5698.

For further media information, please contact: Jay Commins PRO – English Heritage Tel: 0113 251 5698 Mob: 07810 546567 Email: jay@fim.org.uk