Information for record number MWA6948:
Farnborough Hall Park, Farnborough

Summary	An extensive mid 18th century landscape with significant elements designed by Sanderson Miller, together with early 19th century gardens and pleasure grounds.

What Is It?
Type:	Landscape Park, Kitchen Garden, Formal Garden, Walk, Pond, Drive, Ha Ha, Garden Terrace, Balustrade, Rose Garden, Cascade, Obelisk, Lake, Stable, Dairy
Period:	Modern - Modern (1600 AD - 2050 AD)

Where Is It?
Parish:	Avon Dassett
District:	Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference:	SP 42 49
(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: I) Sites & Monuments Record

Description
Source Number
1 8 Farnborough Hall cover circa 115 site and comprises 5 hectares of gardens and pleasure grounds around the Hall, and a further circa 110 hectares of parkland, lakes, and ornamental plantations. An avenue extends south-west from the site through agricultural land, while a minor road leading west from Farnborough to Avon Dassett passes through the site to the north-west of the Hall; this road was constructed on its present course by Archdeacon Holbech in the mid 19th century. There are significant views west and south from the Terrace Walk across the Vale of the Red Horse and the Warmington valley which are framed to the south-west by the Edge Hill escarpment and to the north-west by the Dassett hills; there is late 18th or early 19th century ornamental planting on the south-facing slope north of the minor road leading from Farnborough to Avon Dassett immediately west of the site. ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES Farnborough Hall is approached from the village of Farnborough to the north-east. The entrance is marked by a pair of low stone piers surmounted by ball finials which support a single early 19th century timber and metal gate. The entrance is flanked to north-west and south-east by low saddle-coped stone walls. A gravelled drive flanked by rectangular lawns extends circa 80m south-west through the outer forecourt. The outer forecourt is enclosed to the north-east by evergreen shrubbery and mature trees which screen the public road, while to the north-west it is enclosed by stone walls. To the south-east, Lady Pond, a rectangular Pond of 17th century or earlier origins adjoins the outer forecourt, from which it is separated by a simple railed clairvoie. At the south-west end of the outer forecourt, the drive crosses a service drive which leads south-east to the park, and north-west to the 18th century stables and the early 19th century coach house which enclose a cobbled yard circa 50m north of the Hall. The stables were remodelled and the coach house built by Henry Hakewill for William Holbech IV in 1815-16. A further gravelled drive leads circa 50m north-west from the stable yard to the Avon Dassett road. This road was diverted to its present course by William Holbech IV in 1815 (WCRO); in 1772 it passed through the farmyard circa 50m north of the Hall and thence along the boundary of the pleasure grounds, circa 30m south-east of its present route. The principal drive passes from the outer forecourt into the inner forecourt below the north-east facade of the Hall through a pair of low, ornamental wrought-iron gates. These are supported on a pair of low stone piers with flat tops which are in turn flanked by low stone walls with flat coping and regularly spaced piers supporting urns; the gates, piers, and flanking walls were designed by Hakewill circa 1815. The inner forecourt is enclosed to the north-west by a high brick wall which curves down to the north-east wall in two stages; a similar wall encloses the forecourt to the south-east. Doors set in the walls near the Hall lead respectively north-west to the pleasure grounds and south-east to the former service quarters. The drive encloses a central circular lawn, while further panels of lawn to the north-west and south-east separate the carriage turn from herbaceous borders. PRINCIPAL BUILDING Farnborough Hall (MWA7158) is situated towards the centre of the site below a north-west- and west-facing slope which rises rapidly to the south-west, and above an area of park which drops away to the lakes to the south-west. gardenS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS Informal and formal gardens and pleasure grounds lie to the west of the Hall, with further informal pleasure grounds and Walks to the south; there is a further detached area of pleasure grounds and Walks to the north. To the west of the Hall a level lawn extends circa 50m north-west to an 18th century brick ha-ha which allows views to Sourland Pool and Stambra Wood circa 160m north-west of the Hall; a narrow flight of brick steps descends from the lawn to a wicket gate leading to the park beyond. A gravel Walk extends along the north and west sides of the lawn to reach a Walk which leads south-west from the lawn. Some 100m west of the Hall the Walk reaches a shallow flight of stone steps which ascends to a partly stone-flagged Terrace with inset borders. The Terrace is enclosed to the west and north by brick walls circa 3.5m high, and to the south by a low stone balustrade; a stuccoed niche in the centre of the west wall contains a Wooden bench seat. The Terrace and walls are the remains of a conservatory constructed in 1776 for William Holbech III. An early 19th century brick-lined icehouse is situated under a mound. A flight of stone steps descends south from the Terrace to a formal rose garden which is enclosed to the east and south by stone balustrades, and to the west by a higher stone wall. A 19th century stone urn stands on a stone pedestal at the centre of the garden, and there are further 20th century stone urns arranged on the surrounding balustrades. The rose garden formed part of the early 19th century improvements to the pleasure grounds made by Henry Hakewill. To the east of the rose garden the gravel Walk continues circa 50m south-west to reach a mid 18th century cascade at the head of Rookery Pool. The cascade formed part of William Holbech II's mid 18th century development of the pleasure grounds and may have been designed by Miller; it was constructed on the site of an earlier Mill. The pleasure ground Walk corresponds to an early 18th century yew walk which ran parallel to the west boundary of the gardens. The west lawn returns below the south façade of the Hall, where an early or mid 18th century stone baluster sundial stands circa 5m west of the south-west corner of the Hall. The Terrace extends circa 700m south and south-east, ascending gently to reach a mid 18th century obelisk which overlooks the Hanwell valley. Beyond the obelisk, the Terrace turns sharply east, and extends circa 350m east and north-east to reach the site of the Pentagon Temple, a mid 18th century structure which stood at the highest point of the grounds immediately west of the mid 19th century park Cottage. The Temple is marked on Yates' Map of Warwickshire (1793), but had been removed by the mid 19th century The lower section of the Terrace is ornamented with three structures, 320m south of the Hall the Ionic Temple stands on a semi-circular bastion projecting from the west side of the Terrace surrounded by 19th century ornamental shrubbery. The Temple comprises an open pediment supported by four Ionic columns fronting a rectangular stone-flagged recess which contains a timber bench seat. The Ionic Temple was constructed circa 1750, probably to the design of Sanderson Miller. Some 590m south of the Hall, the Oval Pavilion stands on a mound on the east side of the Terrace. Oval on plan, the Pavilion comprises a ground-floor loggia supported by four Tuscan columns, within which a stone-flagged recess supports an elliptical stone table and a bench seat. A curved flight of stone steps with a wrought-iron hand-rail ascends outside the east façade of the Pavilion to reach a first-floor prospect room which is decorated with fine ornamental plasterwork attributed to William Perritt. There are extensive westerly views from this room. The Oval Pavilion was constructed probably to the design of Sanderson Miller, inspired by the oval Pavilion attributed to Inigo Jones in the grounds of Ecton Hall, Northamptonshire. The third structure is the mid 18th century obelisk which marks the southern end of the principal or lower Terrace. Some 130m south-east of the Hall a mid 18th century Game Larder stands to the north-east of the Terrace Walk; it is separated from the Terrace by a mid 18th century brick wall circa 3m high, and is approached through a door set in the wall. A 19th century wrought-iron gate leads south-east to the adjoining paddock. The Game Larder comprises an octagonal Pavilion surmounted by a pitched roof and a louvered timber cupola. The northern sides of the Pavilion are recessed, the roof being supported on Tuscan columns to shelter a bench seat set on a flagged Terrace. There are two further, detached areas of pleasure grounds to the north-west and north of the Hall. 160m north-west of the Hall and separated from the gardens by the road to Avon Dassett and a meadow known in the late 18th century as Miller's Close, Sourland Pool is a mid 18th century lake of natural appearance which is retained to the south and west by a massive earth dam. A further area of detached pleasure ground survives as earthworks in fields circa 750m north of the Hall. The western section of this Terrace corresponds to an approximately semi-circular avenue shown on the 1772 plan. park The park comprises two areas: land to the south of the Hall on the west- and south-facing slopes below the Terrace Walk; and on the high ground to the south-east of the Hall, and east of the Terrace Walk. The park to the south of the Hall comprises pasture with mixed scattered trees on the slope which drops from the Terrace Walk to Rookery Pool, a long, narrow, approximately L-shaped lake which is fed via the cascade by the outflow from Sourland Pool and the Oval Pool. To the west of Rookery Pool a stream is dammed to form a series of serpentine Pools separated by the remains of 18th century dams and sluices; these are separated from Rookery Pool by an area of Woodland. A track leads south-west and south from the western (lower) end of the Terrace Walk through the south park, passing to the north of an early 19th century picturesque dairy circa 320m south-south-west of the Hall. The design of the dairy is attributed to Hakewill; it formed part of the remodelling of the south park and Rookery Pool which was undertaken for William Holbech IV circa 1815. In the late 18th century the south park was divided into three enclosures. The north-east enclosure was known as the dairy Ground, while that to the south-west was the Warren. The third enclosure, a low-lying meadow below the obelisk, was known as Markham Hole; by the late 19th century it was separated from the Warren by a sunk fence. The south-east park comprises an extensive single pasture enclosure with scattered trees on a north-east-facing slope, and the summit of Markham Hill south-east of the Hall. To the north the park is separated from the paddock by an 18th century brick wall circa 3m high, while to the west it is bounded by a 20th century fence which separates it from the Terrace Walk. The eastern or upper Terrace now lies within the park. On the summit of Markham Hill, some 530m south-east of the Hall, a late 19th or early 20th century single-storey timber and corrugated-iron cricket pavilion survives in a derelict condition. In the late 18th century the south-east park comprised three enclosures, of which the northern enclosure was described as the 'park'. KITCHEN GARDEN The KITCHEN GARDEN is situated circa 400m east-north-east of the Hall. The garden is octagonal on plan, and is enclosed by late 18th century brick walls circa 3m high under stone coping. Doorways are placed centrally in the west, south, and east walls. Attached to the outer side of the north wall of the garden a late 18trh century two-storey brick cottage stands in a former service yard. OTHER LAND Oak or Oakal Hill, a meadow circa 530m south-east of the Hall and to the east of the minor road which forms the eastern boundary of the park. 2 Evidence of early 19th century work in park. 3 It is assumed that there were formal gardens associated with the 17th century house, but no trace remains. The 18th century designed landscape is shown in full on an estate survey of 1772, though many features, including the Serpentine Terrace and most of the Temple and other structures, were created in the 1740s. The park contained a complex system of water features, again mid 18th century. The design seems to have been that of William Holbeche, with the advice of Sanderson Miller, and is comparable with that of a number of contemporary ferme ornee designs in Warwickshire, including Radway Grange. Late 18th and 19th century developments include the pleasure ground north-west of the house and an octagonal KITCHEN GARDEN. 7 A parkland plan, combining cartographic, historical and documentary research with initial archaeological assessment. Contains extensive information on the historical development of the parkland as well as research on elements of the current designed landscape.
Sources
Source No: 1 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: 2 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: 3 Source Type: Bibliographic reference Title: Warwickshire Register Review Report & Recommendations Author/originator: Lovie, Jonathan Date: 1997 Page Number: Volume/Sheet:     Source No: 7 Source Type: Cultural Heritage Assessment Title: Farnborough Hall: Parkland Plan (First Draft) Author/originator: Askew Nelson Ltd. Date: 2013 Page Number: Volume/Sheet:     Source No: 8 Source Type: Statuatory List Title: National Heritage List for England Author/originator: Historic England Date: Page Number: Volume/Sheet:     Source No: 4 Source Type: Map Title: 52NE 1:10560 1886 Author/originator: Ordnance Survey Date: 1886 Page Number: Volume/Sheet: 52NE     Source No: 5 Source Type: Map Title: 52NE 1:10560 1923 Author/originator: Ordnance Survey Date: 1923 Page Number: Volume/Sheet: 52NE     Source No: 6 Source Type: Map Title: Greenwood's Map of the County of Warwick 1822 Author/originator: Greenwood C & J Date: 1822 Page Number: Volume/Sheet:

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