Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens
| April 27, 2008 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 4:00 pm |
Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens
Chester Rd. Castle Bromwich
Birmingham
B36 9BT
April 27th 2008
Refreshments available
10.00am - 4:00pm
admission £3.50
Concessions £3
Children 0.50p
Nurseries attending are listed at the foot of the page
Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens
Situated 5 miles from the centre of Birmingham, and now close to Junction 5 of the M6, the impressive gardens of Castle Bromwich Hall grew, flourished and fell into decay. Having been developed by two generations of the Bridgeman Family (the son and grandson of Charles II’s great lawyer, Sir Orlando Bridgeman) these walled, terraced gardens have always remained somewhat of a mystery, to the extent that even in the immediate area, their true origins and pedigree had been forgotten in the intervening centuries.
The formal gardens of Castle Bromwich Hall were at their peak from 1680 until about 1740. In this they were unusual, because in most other English Gardens from the 1730s, the trend was to move away from the strict geometric patterns and artifice towards the more naturalistic and romantic landscape movement. As a result, most formal gardens were removed: their terracing obliterated, their walls demolished, and the landscape allowed to extend up to the house. What makes Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens unusual is the extent of their survival. Though many of the smaller details were removed, through a quirk of fate, its framework, the terracing and walls, remained unaltered.
Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens were rediscovered in 1982; derelict, vandalised and overgrown, but with their basic structure intact and as they would have been in the early 18th century. Once its importance was recognised, restoration work began and the main part of the garden was given to the newly formed Trust by the Earl of Bradford.
The Gardens have been open to the public since 1988 and by 1998 the restoration of the main structures in the parts of the garden owned by the Trust was complete. A significant collection of plants which would have been available in 1740 has been obtained from Kew Gardens and specialist nurseries. It has, of course, been necessary to preserve some of the 19th-century planting but all new planting (except for the vegetable gardens) was in cultivation before 1740.
NURSERIES ATTENDING
39 Steps Nursery
Shady Plants.com
Rickards hardy Ferns Ltd
Monksilver Nursery
Hillview Hardy Plants
Keith’s Plants Books
for more information, E-mail: info@rareplantfair.co.uk