Information for record number MWA4653:
Charlecote Park water garden

Summary The site of a water garden that was constructed around 1682 for Sir Thomas Fairfax Lucy. The garden was destroyed in the 18th century during the remodelling of the garden by Capability Brown. They were situated to the north of Charlecote Park house.
What Is It?  
Type: Water Garden
Period: Post-medieval (1540 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Charlecote
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 25 56
(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 Vague vegetation marks show on air photographs.
2 The features showing on air photographs are the remains of a water garden constructed in c.1682 at the instigation of Sir Thomas Fairfax-Lucy. The water gardens were subsequently demolished and replaced in the remodelling of the gardens by 'Capability' Brown from 1760. The water gardens are depicted in a painting of c.1695 (possibly by John Stevens) which hangs at Charlecote.
4 Additional air photographs were taken in 1990 on which more detail can be identified, including the position of the turret structure at the north end of the double canal.
5 Shown in illustration of 1722 by Beighton.
6 1722 illustration shows a geometrical scheme with walks, parterres, pools and end bastions.
7 Reproduction of 1722 illustration.
8 Rapid field survey of the earthworks. Contra
2 this suggests that the formal water gardens were constructed by Captain Thomas Lucy between 1677 and 1684. earthworks appear to confirm a layout more akin to that shown on the 1736 survey, rather than the painting of the 1690s - see
2. Comprised of an outer, broadly L-shaped canal with corner bastion, enclosing a shorter, straighter inner canal, both infilled in the 1760s by Capability Brown. Most of the form of the outer canal can be detected, but the inner one is not traceable.
9Both canals show clearly on HER lidar layer. The HER holds air photos that show parch marks of the foundations of the summer house shown at the north end of the canals.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP3967
Author/originator: Pickering J
Date: 1979
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP3967K
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP2556
Author/originator: WM
Date: 1990
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP2556AW-BH
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Charlecote and the Lucys
Author/originator: Fairfax-Lucy A
Date: 1958
Page Number: 158 etc
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Register Review Data Tables (Stratford on Avon)
Author/originator: Lovie, Jonathan
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England
Author/originator: English Heritage
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The Antiquities of Warwickshire
Author/originator: Dugdale, William
Date: 1730
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 1
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Conservation Plan
Title: Charlecote Park Management Plan
Author/originator: C Addison
Date: 2007
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: LIDAR
Title: Environment Agency LIDAR (2008)
Author/originator: Environment Agency
Date: 2008
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Unpublished Document
Author/originator: Hodgson J C
Date: 1993
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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technique Field Survey The term ‘field survey’ is used to describe all work that does not disturb archaeological deposits below the ground through an excavation. Field survey techniques involve recording measurements that help archaeologists draw plans or diagrams of archaeological features. There are a variety of different field survey techniques, including geophysical survey, building recording survey, field walking survey, landscape survey and earthwork survey. back
technique Earthwork Earthworks can take the form of banks, ditches and mounds. They are usually created for a specific purpose. A bank, for example, might be the remains of a boundary between two or more fields. Some earthworks may be all that remains of a collapsed building, for example, the grassed-over remains of building foundations.

In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky than during the other seasons, earthworks have larger shadows. From the air, archaeologists are able to see the patterns of the earthworks more easily. Earthworks can sometimes be confusing when viewed at ground level, but from above, the general plan is much clearer.

Archaeologists often carry out an aerial survey or an earthwork survey to help them understand the lumps and bumps they can see on the ground.
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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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monument POOL * A small body of water, either natural or artificial. back
monument LAYER * An archaeological unit of soil in a horizontal plane which may seal features or be cut through by other features. back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument CANAL * An artificial navigable waterway used for the transportation of goods. Nowadays also used for recreational purposes. back
monument PARK * An enclosed piece of land, generally large in area, used for hunting, the cultivation of trees, for grazing sheep and cattle or visual enjoyment. Use more specific type where known. back
monument TURRET * A small tower or bartizan, which was often placed at the angles of a castle, to increase the flanking ability, some only serving as corner buttresses. Also used to describe the small rectangular towers situated between the milecastles along Hadrians Wall. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument WALK * A place or path for walking in a park or garden. Use more specific type where possible. back
monument PARTERRE * A level space in a garden occupied by ornamental flower beds. back
monument BASTION * A flanking tower, or projection from the main walls of a defensive work from which a garrison can defend the ground in front or on the flank. back
monument WATER GARDEN * A garden incorporating fountains and pools in which aquatic and other water-loving plants are grown. 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 STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record