Hi Dear Folk,
The walled gardens at Holkham Hall are spectacular. It's hard for us to imagine now because we have access to unusual and exotic fruits and vegetables all year round, but back in the 1700's the labourer of the day only had access in the summer to what was locally grown and in the winter to what would weather over and keep in the root cellar. However the Lord of the Manor had access to much more, through his green houses and walled gardens, and of course a multitude of gardeners to work them.
I remember watching one version of Sense and Sensibility, Ann Elliot's family have moved to Bath and there on the table is an elaborate fruit arrangement including a pineapple, which of course if you had money you had access to.
This is interesting because it tells the history of the walled gardens at Holkham Hall, both the first walled garden, which covered over four acres, but was deemed to near the house to be fashionable, so was totally removed and a second walled garden was built well away from the house,which is this one.
They had green house frames both cold and heated. Large greenhouses on the north wall were built for the 2nd Earl of Leicester in 1872 by Henry Ormson at a cost of over 1,400 pounds sterling. they included early and late peach houses, a Muscot house, fig house and early and late vineries.
Baskets of surplus peaches, nectarines, figs and grapes were sometimes sent by the morning passenger train from Holkham station (I think the line was specially built for Holkham Hall to have access to London, both for goods and ease of transportation for the family and their guests) for sale in London market that evening. The gardens were sill producing such fruit in the 1930's.
The cost of heating the green houses became prohibitive and the gardens became overgrown. Eventually in 1964 they were let to Major Stephen Youens and for the next thirty years was run as a thriving commercial nursery gardens, assisted by Peter Gill who worked there for over forty years. Tim Lease continued the business from 1996 to 2005, when the estate took the gardens back and continued to improve them to what you see today.
Christine
The walled gardens at Holkham Hall are spectacular. It's hard for us to imagine now because we have access to unusual and exotic fruits and vegetables all year round, but back in the 1700's the labourer of the day only had access in the summer to what was locally grown and in the winter to what would weather over and keep in the root cellar. However the Lord of the Manor had access to much more, through his green houses and walled gardens, and of course a multitude of gardeners to work them.
I remember watching one version of Sense and Sensibility, Ann Elliot's family have moved to Bath and there on the table is an elaborate fruit arrangement including a pineapple, which of course if you had money you had access to.
This is interesting because it tells the history of the walled gardens at Holkham Hall, both the first walled garden, which covered over four acres, but was deemed to near the house to be fashionable, so was totally removed and a second walled garden was built well away from the house,which is this one.
They had green house frames both cold and heated. Large greenhouses on the north wall were built for the 2nd Earl of Leicester in 1872 by Henry Ormson at a cost of over 1,400 pounds sterling. they included early and late peach houses, a Muscot house, fig house and early and late vineries.
Baskets of surplus peaches, nectarines, figs and grapes were sometimes sent by the morning passenger train from Holkham station (I think the line was specially built for Holkham Hall to have access to London, both for goods and ease of transportation for the family and their guests) for sale in London market that evening. The gardens were sill producing such fruit in the 1930's.
The cost of heating the green houses became prohibitive and the gardens became overgrown. Eventually in 1964 they were let to Major Stephen Youens and for the next thirty years was run as a thriving commercial nursery gardens, assisted by Peter Gill who worked there for over forty years. Tim Lease continued the business from 1996 to 2005, when the estate took the gardens back and continued to improve them to what you see today.
Christine
Your photos are just beautiful, but equally so is the interesting text. You know, I'd never thought about that pineapple thing but yes, you'd have to have money to have pineapple back then, what with shipping and importing. Nice post! I love things that share a bit of the history with it!
ReplyDeleteI do like finding out the history of a place.
DeleteYou look as though you're really enjoying yourself. Great photi
ReplyDeleteYes it was a lovely visit.
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