Information for record number MWA8548:
Topiary garden at Compton Wynyates

Summary The site of a topiary garden which was established during the Imperial period. The topiary garden has now been replaced by a rose garden but some of the original garden features remain. It is situated at Compton Wynyates House.
What Is It?  
Type: Topiary Garden, Garden
Period: Unknown
Where Is It?  
Parish: Compton Wynyates
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 33 41
(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
Picture(s) attached

  
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Famous topiary 'Best Garden' created on terraces south of house post 1886. Important example of revival of topiary work, became famous image of English Garden. The Garden was removed circa 1985.
2 The topiary garden was laid out in 1895 for the 5th Marquess, who may have designed it himself - although other names, such as JD Sedding, have been put forward. Laid out on a terrace south of the house, it contained yew shapes arranged in 8 square panels centred on a circular pond; the panels also contained herbaceous planting. The topiary was removed in 1980, but surviving features include the steps up from the lower lawn, the terrace, the central pond, a brick path, rustic summer house and a pergola. Another pergola and a sundial have been removed. The topiary garden has been replaced by a rose garden containing old varieties.
 
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:
   
Images:  
A view of the topiary garden at Compton Wynyates with the house in the background
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1900s
Click here for larger image  
 
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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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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 FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument GARDEN FEATURE * Unspecified landscape feature. Use more specific type where known. back
monument POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. back
monument PATH * A way made for pedestrians, especially one merely made by walking (often not specially constructed). 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 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 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 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 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