Information for record number MWA7346:
Shakespeare's Gardens, New Place, Chapel Lane/Chapel Street, Stratford

Summary	Early 20th century formal gardens designed by Ernest Law on the site of Shakespeare's last home and garden, with pleasure grounds designed by Law with advice from Ellen Willmott.

What Is It?
Type:	Knot Garden, Pleasure Garden, Walk, Balustrade, Wild Garden
Period:	Unknown

Where Is It?
Parish:	Stratford upon Avon
District:	Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference:	SP 20 54
(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 circa 0.5 heactre site comprises the site of New Place and the early 20th century Knot Garden which extend to 0.1 heactre, and the Great Garden, which extends to 0.4 heactre. The site is bounded to the west by a low brick and stone coped wall adjoining Chapel Street, and to the south by a similar low brick wall surmounted by metal railings which separates the site from Chapel Lane. The southern boundary is also screened by a high, early 20th century yew hedge which is ornamented with regularly spaced geometric topiary shapes. The site is generally level, with a terrace wall retaining the higher Knot Garden and site of New Place to the west above the level of the Great Garden. PRINCIPAL BUILDING New Place, the substantial town house purchased by William Shakespeare in 1597 was demolished by the Rev Francis Gastrell in 1759. GardenS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS From a door in the south facade of the east range of Nash's House, a stone-flagged walk with cobbled edges leads south to a flight of stone steps which descends to the site of New Place at the south-west corner of the site. A similar stone-flagged walk extends east below the south facade of Nash's House, with a narrow, stone- and box-edged flower bed to the north. To the south of this walk a rectangular lawn is divided by a gravel walk which leads south to a memorial stone which is set against the southern boundary hedge. The south-west lawn has rectangular herb beds to the west, from which a grass slope descends to the level of the foundations of New Place. The south-east lawn is enclosed by gravel walks. To the north and adjacent to the stone-flagged walk, the south-east lawn is bounded by two rose beds, while to the south an informal hedge of roses separates the lawns from a further narrow lawn which is enclosed to the south by the boundary yew hedge. A flagstaff stands on this lawn. To the east of the lawns and to the south-east of Nash's House, a trench enclosed by oak railings supported on turned balusters with ornamental finials reveals the foundations of the east range of New Place, and a further well. At the south-east corner of the lawns there is access to a tunnel arbour of timber trellis construction planted with trained fruit trees, which extends east along the south side of the Knot Garden. The Knot Garden comprises a square, sunken enclosure surrounded on each side by a raised, stone-flagged terrace walk retained by a low brick wall. This is surmounted by a low oak balustrade supported on ornamental balusters which are surmounted by decorative finials. At the centre of each terrace a shallow flight of stone steps descends to stone-flagged walks which divide the sunken area into quarters. To the south the steps lead to an arched trellis pavilion at the centre of the tunnel arbour which is planted with laburnum. To the south of the pavilion a yew arbour with a stone-flagged base shelters a timber seat. The tunnel arbour runs parallel to the southern boundary of the site, and encloses two narrow lawns, each with a central rectangular rose bed. To the north the Knot Garden is enclosed by a high brick wall planted with fig trees, which screens the Garden from neighbouring properties. The sunken parterre is laid out in four box-edged 'knots' of different design, at the centre of each knot is a standard rose. The Knot Garden is separated from the Great Garden to the east by a timber trellis screen. Today the Great Garden is entered through a mid 20th century gate and timber turnstile at the south-east corner of the Knot Garden. This gate replaces an early 20th century timber trellis gate set on the central axis of the Knot Garden which formerly led to a raised terrace at the south-west corner of the Great Garden. The terrace is paved with a geometric pattern of triangular stone flags laid between rows of cobbles, and has tile-edged rose borders to the west with topiary yews framing the axial gate from the Knot Garden. Retained by rustic stone walls to the east, steps descend from a rondpoint on the axis of the Knot Garden to a large, roughly rectangular area of lawn which occupies most of the Great Garden. The terrace rondpoint is ornamented with a late 20th century bronze sculpture, The Tempest, by Greg Wyatt, which stands on a pedestal which is set at an angle to the axis of the terrace. To the north the terrace is terminated by a timber bench seat which stands against a brick boundary wall, while to the north-east the terrace leads to a gravel walk retained by a low, rustic stone wall which runs parallel to the brick wall forming the north-west boundary of the Garden. A single line of chestnuts and beech grow on the edge of the lawn parallel to the north-west walk, while at the north-west corner of the Garden there is a single-storey, lean-to timber shelter which was designed by Guy Pemberton. The gravel perimeter walk continues along the wall which forms the northern boundary of the Great Garden, where timber benches are placed between several mature deciduous trees. Some 10m south of the perimeter walk a raised circular bed retained by a drystone wall contains a mature multi-stemmed mulberry. At the north-east corner of the Great Garden, 80m north-east of Nash's House, a service yard containing a late 20th century metal glasshouse, a late 20th century brick shed and an earlier 20th century timber lean-to glasshouse, is screened to the west and south by yew hedges which are ornamented with figurative topiary. Immediately to the south of the service yard, and approached along a short gravel walk enclosed to north and south by yew hedges, a late 18th century monument to Shakespeare stands against the eastern boundary wall. The perimeter walk continues along the east side of the lawn, with a deep border of trees and evergreen and flowering shrubs to the east, known as the Wilderness. The border is retained by a low drystone edging with recesses for timber benches; 3m from the edge of the bed a further drystone wall retains the eastern area of trees and shrubs. Some 10m south of the Shakespeare Monument stands a single stone column with a metal plaque and inscription recording that it was removed from the 17th century town hall which was demolished in the late 18th century. The perimeter walk turns sharply west at the south-east corner of the site, and returns parallel to the southern boundary of the site to join the southern end of the raised terrace on the west side of the Great Garden. The south walk is flanked by parallel borders, that to the north edged with low box hedges and divided by six low box hedges which run from north to south. 3 Shakespeare bought New Place in 1597, and probably died there in 1616. The original House was rebuilt 1700-1702, though a sketch exists of it. By the mid 18th century the site was a place of literary pilgrimage, but the occupant of that time, Rev Francis Gastrell, Canon of Lichfield, felled the mulberry tree supposed to have been planted by Shakespeare and then demolished the House in a dispute over poor rates levied on it.
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: 4 Source Type: Statuatory List Title: National Heritage List for England Author/originator: Historic England Date: Page Number: Volume/Sheet:

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