Nottingham University - The Walled Garden
w/e 15 May 2011
All this week's pictures were taken
with a Kodak DX6490
It's getting on for a year since we visited the Millennium
Garden in the grounds of Nottingham University and I mentioned
then that there were several more gardens on the campus that
would be worth visiting at a later date. Well one of those later
dates has arrived and we returned to the University for a look
at one of those other gardens, the Walled Garden at Highfield
House.
The whole campus is known as University Park and Highfield House,
the Department of Theology and Religious Studies sits right in
the centre of the site. The house itself is a Grade II listed
building and was built about 1797 for the Lowe family.
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The walled garden adjacent to the house is the remains of a much
larger walled garden and access is gained through wrought iron
gates that were installed here a few years ago. The gates were
originally hung at the West Entrance gatehouse when the University
buildings were constructed in the 1920s but for many years lay
derelict. When they were restored and installed at the entrance
to the garden they were in fact returning to the place where
they were originally made.
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The larger walled garden was once "filled with vineries,
stove houses and exotic plants" but on entering the smaller
walled garden today the eye is immediately drawn to the centrepiece,
an ornamental wellhead.
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Borders around the edge of the garden have been planted with
herbaceous perennials that in summer display a "hot"
colour scheme.
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Other borders around the central grassed area also contain colourful
plants and the whole garden is said to have been planted in the
late Victorian style.
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This late Victorian style also includes hardy bamboos and hardy
bananas as well as other exotic plants. The severe winter of
2010/2011 however still took its toll and protective structures
are continuing to surround some of the plants even in May.
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Another feature around the perimeter of the garden are the seats
and this one in particular within a wrought iron arbour. The
gold plaque to the right of the arbour reads:
"The Wortley Memorial Arbour
Gifted by Glenys Wortley, Retired Deputy Registrar, at the time
of her death in 2006, in loving memory of her parents, Principal
H.A.S. & Mrs Gracie Wortley who both died in 1947.
They had lived as a family in Highfield House from 1939 until
1947"
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The wooden seating around the garden appears to be of a permanent
nature but more temporary chairs and tables were dotted about
the grassed area. This sheltered spot is a quiet oasis in the
centre of the University campus but maybe it's still not quite
warm enough for the students to venture outdoors as all the while
we were there, we had the whole garden to ourselves. Those that
do venture into the walled garden however find an ideal place
of meditation, contemplation and study.
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