Before visiting Pettifers Garden, I
stopped to see Rousham House and Gardens in Oxfordshire. I am also hoping to
include Rousham in next year’s tour. Rousham Gardens’ reputation preceded my
visit. It is arguably one of the finest gardens in England. Rousham remains a private garden and was
surprisingly quiet, especially as compared to another landscape garden we visit,
Stourhead, which is owned and operated by the National Trust and had hundreds
of visitors when we were there last week. I saw perhaps 10 visitors at Rousham and felt as
if I had the garden to myself for the morning.
Rousham is an excellent example of an
Augustan age (early 18th century when British artists emulated the original Augustan age in Rome 27 BC-14AD) landscape garden and was designed by William Kent (1685-1748). It is
recommended to follow the circuit walk, drawn up prior to 1738 by the head
gardener, John MacClary. My photographs follow the circuit which takes the
visitor around the perimeter of the garden through a series of water features,
statues and follies.
Rousham House and Gardens is still
owned by the same family that created it and remains precisely as Kent
envisioned. The brochure for Rousham says it all: “Rousham is uncommercial and
unspoilt with no tea room and no shop. Bring a picnic, wear comfortable shoes
and it is yours for the day.”
Rousham House from the Bowling Green
The view from the house with central statue made in 1740.
The Lion and the Horse by P. Scheemaker
The Octagon Pond
The Upper Cascade with a statue of Venus
The Watery Walk
The serpentine rill in the Watery Walk is elegant and feels contemporary even today
The octagonal Cold Bath
Temple of Echo by Kent and Townsend
Paladian Doorway
View of the house; the ha-ha can barely be discerned
Statue of Apollo
Heyford Bridge 1255
The reverse view of Apollo through The Long Walk
The Lower Cascade with the Upper Cascade above
The Arcade
The ancient hedges that separate the Bowling Green from the Walled Garden
The Walled Garden predates the work of William Kent
The formal Pigeon House Garden
Did Rousham appeal to you? Reading the post, it is difficult to tell if you were moved by the experience or only by its significance in England garden history.
ReplyDeleteI did love this garden. I would compare it to other landscape gardens, like Stourhead. It is a wonderful place to contemplate or meditate especially because there were so few people there. I am informed by landscape gardens for the public spaces I work in.That said, a garden like Pettifers or Great Dixter really speaks to me for my private garden. Even though they are both much grander than my personal garden, I understand them both as personal spaces, like my garden.
DeleteMichael, I know it's silly to say one garden was a favorite, but on my recent trip to England, I think Rousham was. It's vastly different from my own garden, but I found Rousham to be the "bees' knees" to quote William Martin. Bordering on the spiritual for me.
DeleteYes, Rousham is about as different as a garden can be from your garden. That is one of the things I like so much about gardening: there are so many wonderful and different gardens to enjoy and get a vicarious thrill from.
DeleteThis looks like heaven on earth.
ReplyDelete