Information for record number MWA12909:
Lord Leycester Hospital, Master's garden, Warwick

Summary Gardens associated with the 14th century premises of the Guild of the Holy Trinity and St George, which was converted into an almshouse in the late 16th century.
What Is It?  
Type: Formal Garden, Garden Terrace, Summerhouse, Thatched Roof, Sundial
Period: Modern - Modern (1580 AD - 2050 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Warwick
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 28 64
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Registered Park or Garden (Grade: II)
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The Lord Leycester Hospital is situated on the north side of the High Street in the centre of Warwick, immediately north of the Chapel of St James which stands above the medieval West Gate. The site has been artificially levelled and is retained by the stone wall fronting High Street and the medieval town wall. A gently sloping brick and cobbled terrace ascends from the level of Brook Street and is retained above the level of the street by a stone wall. After 45m the terrace passes beneath a gothic stone arch closed by timber doors, to enter the precincts of the 16th century Hospital. 45m south-west of the arch, an arched opening set in the south-east facade of the Hospital gives access to the central gravelled courtyard. The Master's House occupies the north-west wing of the Hospital, and there is access directly from the House to the garden beyond. From the entrance terrace a flight of mid 19th century stone steps ascends south to the Chapel of St James which adjoins the Hospital to the south-west. PRINCIPAL BUILDING The Lord Leycester Hospital comprises a group of picturesque half-timbered BUILDINGs arranged around a central courtyard which is entered through a stone arch beneath a bargeboarded gable set in the south-east or street facade. gardenS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS The Master's garden occupies a level site immediately north-west of the Hospital. The garden is divided into two sections by a hornbeam hedge which traverses the site from south-west to north-east at a point 65m north-west of the Master's House. A stone-flagged terrace extends along the north-west facade of the Master's House, from which a centrally placed shallow flight of stone steps flanked by a pair of low piers ascends a shallow bank to reach the lower level of the garden. The lower level of the garden is laid out with a central lawn surrounded by a curvilinear gravel walk. A stone-flagged path and a 19th century metal rose arch lead through the north-east border to reach a walk which extends along the north-east boundary of the garden, while a gravel walk leads south-west to give access to the Master's terrace, a gravelled walk which extends along the south-west boundary of the garden. The south-east section of the garden assumed its present form in 1852 when a central walk which had been created in 1796 was removed. Some 60m north-west of the Master's House, a round-headed Norman arch is placed on the central axis of the garden, allowing access to the northern section. To the north-west of the Norman arch, and also placed on the central axis of the garden, is the Nilometer, a carved stone classical urn with a heavily reeded body under a cover and finial. The urn is placed on a square stone pedestal, each face of which is ornamented with a circular inscription panel. The pedestal is flanked by four cannon balls recovered from the field of the Battle of Edgehill (EH Register of Battlefields). Immediately north-west of the transverse hedge a gravel walk extends across the width of the garden, linking the north-east boundary walk and the Master's terrace. A brick and cobbled walk extends north-west from the Nilometer on the central axis of the garden, dividing the northern section into two. The axial walk is aligned to the north-west on a circular brick and timber summerhouse which is surmounted by a conical thatched roof. The north-east section of the northern area of the garden is laid out with a central lawn surrounded by mixed borders. This garden is treated as a potager with the four quarters planted with seasonal vegetables and fruit bushes. To the north-west of the garden divisions a further gravel walk extends across the width of the site linking the two boundary walks. To the south-west the Master's terrace comprises a gravel walk extending along the medieval town wall. To the north-east of the Hospital, and to the south-east of the car park, from which it is entered through a short tunnel arbour of green oak, is an approximately rectangular area planted as a box-edged knot garden with brick-paved paths and a sculpture of the heraldic Bear and Ragged Staff (heraldic device of the earls of Warwick) by Rachel Higgins. The pattern of the box knot reflects that of the C16 timber-work on the adjacent Hospital buildings, while the topiary symbolises the twelve Brethren of the Hospital. This knot garden was designed by Susan Rhodes and Geoffrey Smith in 2000, and occupies the site of the rear gardens of the C15 and C16 Houses facing High Street and Brook Street which were taken into the Hospital in 1956 (VCH 1969).
2
3 Lovie reports a one-acre walled town garden with structural features. Extensive rennovation and has been redesigned and developed to reflect character of site. Work done under supervision of Mrs Susan Rhodes, wife of the Master, and landscape architect Geoffrey Smith. Includes Norman archway, Nilometer and pinepit, box-edged beds, potager, fruits trees and mixed planting. Lovie describes this garden as a successful renovation of an existing historic garden and has respected the original plan in so far as it is known.
 
Sources
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Register Review Data Tables (Warwick)
Author/originator: Lovie, Jonathan
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Register Review Report & Recommendations
Author/originator: Lovie, Jonathan
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Statuatory List
Title: National Heritage List for England
Author/originator: Historic England
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
none Registered Park or Garden Parks and gardens that are considered to be of historic importance are placed on a register. The register comprises a variety of town gardens, public parks and country estates. The main purpose of the register is to help ensure that the features and qualities that make the parks and gardens special are safeguarded if changes are being considered which could affect them.

The gardens on the register are divided into three grades in order to give some guidance about their significance, in a similar way to Listed Buildings. The majority of parks and gardens on the Register are of sufficient interest as to be designated as grade II. Some, however, are recognised as being of exceptional historic interest and are awarded a star giving them grade II* status. A small number are of international importance, and are classified as grade I.
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source VCH The Victoria County History of the Counties of England. This publication covers the history of each county in England. For Warwickshire, seven volumes were published between 1904 and 1964. They comprise a comprehensive account of the history of each town and village in the county, and important families connected to local history. Each volume is organised by 'hundred', an Anglo-Saxon unit of land division. The Victoria County History also contains general chapters about Warwickshire's prehistory, ecclesiastical and economic history. A copy of each volume is held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
period Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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period Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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monument TOWN WALL * A fortified wall surrounding a town or city. back
monument HOSPITAL BUILDING * A hospital building of uncertain function. Use more specific type if known. back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument PRECINCT * The ground immediately surrounding a place, particularly a religious building. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument BORDER * A strip of ground forming a fringe to a garden. Use more specific type where known. back
monument CARVED STONE * A stone (including standing stones, natural boulders and rock outcrops) decorated with carved motifs. back
monument TUNNEL ARBOUR * An extended arbour, eg. the beech arbour at Hampton Court, Middlesex. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument FORMAL GARDEN * A garden of regular, linear or geometrical design, often associated with the traditional Italian, French and Dutch styles. back
monument ARCH * A structure over an opening usually formed of wedge-shaped blocks of brick or stone held together by mutual pressure and supported at the sides; they can also be formed from moulded concrete/ cast metal. A component; use for free-standing structure only. back
monument BOUNDARY * The limit to an area as defined on a map or by a marker of some form, eg. BOUNDARY WALL. Use specific type where known. back
monument BATTLEFIELD * The field or area of ground on which a battle or skirmish was fought. back
monument KNOT GARDEN * An intricately designed garden in which ground coves, low shrubs or coloured earths are arranged in interlacing patterns resembling knots back
monument URN * A garden ornament, usually of stone or metal, designed in the the form of a vase used to receive the ashes of the dead. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument FACADE * Use wider site type where known. Only use term where no other part of original building survives. back
monument PATH * A way made for pedestrians, especially one merely made by walking (often not specially constructed). back
monument ALMSHOUSE * A house devoted to the shelter of the poor and endowed by a benefactor for this use. back
monument WALK * A place or path for walking in a park or garden. Use more specific type where possible. back
monument PEDESTAL * A concrete, cylindrical pedestal on which a spigot mortar was mounted. The pedestal is often the only evidence for a Spigot Mortar emplacement to survive. back
monument COURTYARD * An uncovered area, surrounded or partially surrounded by buildings. back
monument PIER * A structure of iron or wood, open below, running out into the sea and used as a promenade and landing stage. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument CANNON * A large mounted gun, now disused and placed in a prominent position as a piece of street furniture or as a "feature". back
monument HOSPITAL * An establishment providing medical or surgical treatment for the ill or wounded. Use narrower term where possible. back
monument CAR PARK * A place where cars and other road vehicles may be parked and left. back
monument CHAPEL * A freestanding building, or a room or recess serving as a place of Christian worship in a church or other building. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SQUARE * An open space or area, usually square in plan, in a town or city, enclosed by residential and/or commercial buildings, frequently containing a garden or laid out with trees. back
monument SCULPTURE * A figurative or abstract design in the round or in relief, made by chiselling stone, carving wood, modelling clay, casting metal, or similar processes. back
monument SUMMERHOUSE * A building in a garden or park designed to provide a shady retreat from the heat of the sun. back
monument GARDEN * An enclosed piece of ground devoted to the cultivation of flowers, fruit or vegetables and/or recreational purposes. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SUNDIAL * A structure used to show the time of day by means of the sun shining on a 'gnomon', the shadow of which falls on the surface of the dial which is marked with a diagram showing the hours. Can be freestanding, usually on a pillar, or fixed to a building. back
monument HEDGE * Usually a row of bushes or small trees planted closely together to form a boundary between pieces of land or at the sides of a road. back
monument ROUND * A small, Iron Age/Romano-British enclosed settlement found in South West England. back
monument GATE * A movable stucture which enables or prevents entrance to be gained. Usually situated in a wall or similar barrier and supported by gate posts. back
monument GARDEN TERRACE * A flat, level area of ground within a garden. Often raised and accessed by steps. back
monument LAWN * A flat, and usually level area of mown and cultivated grass, attached to a house. back
monument STEPS * A series of flat-topped structures, usually made of stone or wood, used to facilitate a person's movement from one level to another. back
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back
monument TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. back
monument MIXED BORDER * A bed or border in which different species and colours are mixed. back
monument TERRACE * A row of houses attached to and adjoining one another and planned and built as one unit. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record