Information for record number MWA8535:
Billesley Manor gardens

Summary Gardens dating to the Imperial period, including the county's best surviving topiary garden of this period. The Gardens are attached to Billesley Manor.
What Is It?  
Type: Garden, Topiary Garden
Period: Imperial - Modern (1751 AD - 2050 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Billesley
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 14 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: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

 
Source Number  

1 The gardens form part of the grounds of a Medieval and Post Medieval site, of which remains include earthworks, the Post Medieval house, dovecote, barns and the Grade I Listed church. The topiary garden was created c1913; a formal garden which also existed has been lost. The house is now a hotel. Recommended for inclusion on the Local List.
2 When the Billesley Manor site was sold in 1880 it was a working farm and there were no gardens of any significance. The house was bought in the early 20th century by Charles Hanbury Tracy, and a programme of restoration initiated. Between 1906 and 1934 gardens were also developed. These included features such as a thatched summer house, a stone flagged terrace, a stone pergola, several lawns, fish and lily ponds, a sunken garden, a rose garden and a topiary garden, all in the vernacular style. Many of these features have been lost to neglect or building extensions, but the topiary garden survives and is considered to be probably the best remaining example in the county. Recommended for inclusion on the Local List. Includes photograph of topiary garden (p108-109).
3 The OS 1:10560 1886 Sht Warks 43NE shows the house and grounds before the development of the early 20th century gardens.
4 The OS 1:10560 1924 Sht Warks 43NE shows many of the garden features and the earlier extent of the garden noted above.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
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: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Register Review Report & Recommendations
Author/originator: Lovie, Jonathan
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: 43NE 1:10560 1886
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1886
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 43NE
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Map
Title: 43NE 1:10560 1924
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1924
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 43NE
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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 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 Post Medieval About 1540 AD to 1750 AD (the 16th century AD to the 18th century AD)

The Post Medieval period comes after the medieval period and before the Imperial period.

This period covers the second half of the reign of the Tudors (1485 – 1603), the reign of the Stuarts (1603 – 1702) and the beginning of the reign of the Hannoverians (1714 – 1836).
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period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
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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 DOVECOTE * A building, or part of a building, used to house doves and pigeons, usually placed at a height above the ground, with openings and provision inside for roosting and breeding. back
monument LILY POND * A water pond in which lilies are grown. back
monument HOTEL * A large building used for the accommodation of paying travellers and guests. back
monument ROSE GARDEN * A garden, often geometrical in layout, or area for the cultivation of roses. 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 TOPIARY GARDEN * A garden containing trees or shrubs pruned and trained into various geometric, zoomorphic or fantastic shapes. 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 FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument GARDEN FEATURE * Unspecified landscape feature. Use more specific type where known. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SUNKEN GARDEN * An often secluded garden set below the level of surrounding ground, usually surrounded with terraces. back
monument MANOR * An area of land consisting of the lord's demesne and of lands from whose holders he may exact certain fees, etc. back
monument PERGOLA * Timber or metal structure consisting of upright and cross members designed to support climbing plants. 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 BARN * A building for the storage and processing of grain crops and for housing straw, farm equipment and occasionally livestock and their fodder. Use more specific type where known. back
monument LAWN * A flat, and usually level area of mown and cultivated grass, attached to a house. back
monument FARM * A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. 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