About the Scheme

The Development Process

Site Selection

Six properties were identified as suitable for the Contemporary Heritage Garden Scheme.

The preperation work behind the final selection of six sites included:

• An initial shortlist of sites requiring improvement in their garden or landscape presentation was prepared.
• A desktop study of each site analysing the history and significance of the site to assess the impact and appropriateness of a potential new garden.
• Archaeological investigations also advised where the potential of buried archaeology would contain new development.
• The English Heritage Historic Parks and Gardens Advisory Committee provided a peer review and approved the site selection and designer brief for each site.

Archaeology:

In some cases such as the Cock Pit at Richmond Castle initial investigation lead to further archaeological investigation on site, including a geophysical survey and selective trenches. This identified that the site had been much disturbed with the only interesting garden remnants being the foundations of a 19th century glasshouse and garden frames.

One of the tenets of the Contemporary Heritage Garden scheme was that new design or works should not destroy significant archaeological evidence.

Selection of Designers

Design competition advertisements were placed in the professional garden design press inviting expressions of interest from garden designers and landscape architects. Designers were asked to send in their CVs and examples of their work. From up to forty designers expressing interest, five designers were selected to compete for each site. Each of the five had to demonstrate an ability to deliver high quality work and for each site we looked for a range of designers who would produce innovative solutions.
The shortlisted designers were presented with a designers pack that included the designer's brief, site description and historical background, site data, historical and contemporary maps and plans and a computer disk with an AutoCAD plan of the site.

Designers were given six weeks in which to visit the site and come up with their outline proposals and costings. A specialist Judging Panel was set up to assess the five designs for each site. After individual study of each application the panel discussed each proposal and selected their questions of the designers. Each designer was given 15 minutes to make their presentation and answer any of the Judges questions. Further discussion took place on each proposal which was then marked on a scoring system to assess each design against the brief.

The Judging Panel was made up from a broad range of expertise: garden historians, garden archaeologist, garden designer, landscape architect and two judges with local knowledge or association, they were all chaired by Kirsty McLeod, then Chair of the English Heritage Historic Park and Garden Committee.

Garden Construction

The winning designers were then commissioned to form part of a project team to fully develop their ideas, so that the work could be put out to tender. The English Heritage Project Teams were made up of John Watkins or Russell Williams as Project Co-ordinators, the Designer, Regional staff -Assistant Regional Director, Facilities Manager, Marketing Manager, Landscape Architect, Landscape Manager, Historic Buildings Inspector and site custodial staff. At Eltham Palace, Witley Court and Osborne where there are Head Gardeners they became key members of the project team.

Main aims and objectives of the scheme

• To create contemporary gardens appropriate to their historic settings
• To improve the presentation of properties to visitors for their knowledge and enjoyment
• To select designs on concepts and materials appropriate to the site
• To set standards of design for future heritage
• To apply the best standards of finish and construction in the heritage sector
• To promote the best landscape designers and their profession
• To increase visitor numbers and income fed back to the heritage sector

Additional site specific aims:

Richmond Castle: To develop a community involvement scheme for the garden

Portland Castle: To aid the regeneration of the Portland area after the withdrawal of the Royal Navy and related industry

Lincoln Bishop's Palace: Part of a wider project in association with the Lindum Hillside Partnership for the improvement of local visitor attractions.

Completion

Six gardens were completed:

• The South Moat Border at Eltham Palace designed by Isabelle Van Groeningen
• The Walled Fruit and Flower Garden at Osborne by Rupert Golby
• The Terraced Garden at Lincoln Medieval Bishops' Palace by Mark Anthony Walker
• The Cock Pit Garden at Richmond Castle in Yorkshire by Neil Swanson
• The Walled Garden at Portland Castle by Christopher Bradley-Hole.
• The Wilderness Garden at Witley Court by Michael Ibbotson of Colvin and Moggridge.

English Heritage is delighted with all the new gardens. They have resolved long-standing presentation problems at each site and have provided us with a valuable legacy of some of the best garden and landscape design at the cusp of a new century.