Gardens at Walmer Castle

A brief history of the gardens

The present layout of the gardens is largely the result of the personal enthusiasm of two Lords Warden - William Pitt and Earl Granville. When Pitt took up residence, the extent of the garden was limited to 'the Governor's garden' a utilitarian oblong occupying the present kitchen garden and almost certainly performing the same function.

His family were amateur but influential landscape improvers and the additional land that Pitt leased established the boundaries of the grounds as they are today. Although he does not seem to have drawn any plans, descriptions of his and Lady Hester's work by the next Warden, Lord Liverpool, suggest that he at least began the plantations and laid out the kitchen garden, the glen and perhaps the walled garden too.

Lord Granville was the other chief influence on the character of the gardens today. Unlike Pitt, though, on his appointment in 1865 he engaged a professional landscape gardener, William Master. Pitt's planting had become overgrown so the proposals for the reinstatement of the grounds at Walmer included thinning out trees on the lawn and in the belts and creating the yew-lined Broadwalk and grassed terraces beyond. His design was inspired by the fashion for reviving the 17th century, formal, Italian-style gardens of terraces and long vistas.

The last Lord Warden to make any significant alteration to the gardens was Lord Beauchamp. He and his wife, Lady Lettice Grosvenor, were leading lights in fashionable London society and occasionally used Walmer for entertainment. They extended the Broadwalk's axis south-west to the boundary and visually strengthened it with two sets of steps in grass banks.

The most recent addition to the grounds came in 1997 when a new garden was presented to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, to commemorate her tenure as Lord Warden and to celebrate her 95th birthday. It was designed by Penelope Hobhouse, and was built within the 19th century walled garden.

Walmer Castle is Grade II on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

• 'Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother's Garden' has been installed in the old Walled Garden. It has been designed by the designer Penelope Hobhouse, and contains topiary, a 95ft pool, an evergreen double 'E-shaped' parterre, and exuberant, large mixed borders.
• The Broad Walk with large formal herbaceous borders on either side, which mirror one another in the plantings and are backed by great yew hedges. The colour scheme of pastel shades, starts with blue at either end, going into white, then pink to yellow and finally darker shades in the centre.
• The moat, now grassed over and planted with shrub borders, is designed to provide interest all year. Plants include lilacs, fuchsias and hydrangeas. Nearby is a Magnolia grandiflora, a mass of blooms in spring and ancient cordon pear trees are trained on the walls.
• The terraces contain plantings of a pink patio rose named after the Queen Mother.
• The Kitchen garden with espalier trained fruit trees, vegetables and flowers for cutting, is run on organic principles. Its main purpose is ornamental through using unusual vegetables and plant combinations. The vegetable areas are grown on a three-year rotation and for summer display only, with a new design each year.
• Sea views to the south, parkland and beautiful Evergreen Oak avenue can be seen on the inland side.
• The meadow in the paddock with groups of orchids such as the Pyramid Orchid, Anacampsis pyramidalis.
• The main glasshouse was restored and replanted in 2002. Its main purpose is to add interest in the winter months. It has three areas : one for foliage and scents, one with a succulent collection and information panels, and one with ferns and a seasonal potted display. The second glasshouse has recently been restored and will be planted as a cold house.

Old yew hedges which border the herbaceous beds have developed into irregular clipped rolling humps and bumps.

The shingle beach and associated grassland have a range of interesting wild flowers including Sea Kale and Sea Pea. The Nationally Scarce divided sedge is found in the pasture ground and brown long-eared bats roost on the site. For more information on endangered wildlife and habitats visit the Natural England web page.

View further information on Walmer Castle visiting times, facilities, entrance prices and directions.

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