Since the creation of the Yorkshire Gardens Trust in 1996 more than 300 events have been organised for our members and guests. Here are some recent highlights...
For reports of earlier events please follow this link to earlier Newsletters
Day visit
Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Yorkshire Sculpture Park is situated in the designed landscape of Bretton Hall, pleasure grounds of the late 18th - and early 19th-century
Day visit
University of York - Campus West Walk
The important grade II University of York Campus West 20th century designed landscape incorporates the physical remains of the early 18th century gardens and planting associated with the 16th century hall.
Day visit
South Cliff Gardens, Esplanade, Scarborough
Commenced in 1837 as private gardens, South Cliff Gardens were significantly extended in 6 phases under differing ownership
Day visit
Evening Drinks Party Helmsley Walled Garden
Built in 1759 the kitchen garden for Duncombe Park gardeners would supply all the vegetables and flowers for the house for over 150 years
Day visit
Midsummer Picnic at Skipwith Hall
Skipwith Hall started life as a Jacobean farmhouse. It took shape as a Queen Anne manor house for the Parish of Skipwith around 1700
Day visit
Parcevall Hall Gardens
Parcevall Hall Gardens - our second visit this year to a garden created in the inter war years.
Day visit
Whinfell Quarry Garden and Whirlow Brook Park
A visit to two adjacent gardens in south west Sheffield which were both originally in private ownership
Day visit
Hornby Castle
On a commanding position in rolling landscape just north of Bedale in the Vale of Mowbray are the remains of Hornby Castle
Day visit
Raby Castle Gardens
Raby Castle was built in the 14th century by the powerful Neville family. Home to Cecily Neville, mother of two kings of England.
Raby Castle was built in the 14th century by the powerful Neville family. Home to Cecily Neville, mother of two kings of England, it was also the scene of the plotting of the Rising of the North and a Parliamentary stronghold during the Civil War. In 1626, Sir Henry Vane the Elder, Member of Parliament and important member of Charles I’s household, purchased Raby from the Crown. The Vane family still own Raby, the present owner being the 12th Lord Barnard.
We were invited to join members of Northumbria Gardens Trust for a special visit to Raby Castle Gardens and Parkland. In the morning there were walks in the park, a non-public route to Bath Wood and the Bath House built in the last quarter of the C18th, and a self-guided route to the High and Low Ponds and the Temple. After lunch we visited both the 18th century Walled Garden which has been recently remodelled by renowned garden designer Luciano Giubbilei together with Lady Barnard, and also be taken around The Vinery Terrace, Duchess’ Walkway and the Coach Yard by its Designer Alistair Baldwin.
A link to an illustrated account of this visit will be posted here shortly
Day visit
Yorkshire Gardens Trust AGM 2025 - Members Only
Our AGM this year was held at West Tanfield Memorial Hall, West Tanfield, North Yorkshire followed by a talk by Dr Jan Harding
A splendid day!
After coffee/tea and cookies and the Annual General Meeting we had a splendid talk, (details below) and after lunch guided walks at Thornborough Henges.
Dr Jan Harding’s talk: ‘Where Earth Meets Sky: the Monument Complex of Thornborough, North Yorkshire’
A remarkable cluster of at least nine giant henges were built in central Yorkshire between about 3000-2200 BC. Sited relatively close to one another, they suggest an extraordinary dynamic of building and religious worship across this small part of Neolithic Britain. The best known of these are the three henges that make-up the impressive and totally unique alignment at Thornborough. Collectively, they represent one of the greatest achievements of their age, but why were they built here, what did they originally look like, and what did they mean to those who visited and used them? The presentation and tour addressed these questions by focusing on the results of extensive fieldwork at Thornborough, charting this ‘sacred landscape’ from its origins in the early Neolithic, to its apogee in the late Neolithic, and then subsequent redevelopment during the middle Bronze Age. It is evident that during its three thousand year story Thornborough became a major centre of religious worship and a place of pilgrimage for people scattered far and wide. Its renown depended on the complex’s strategic siting, and also on beliefs and practices that drew on the wider landscape and the sky above. As such, Thornborough is a prehistoric landscape of both national and international significance - a jewel at the heart of Yorkshire’s sweeping and spectacular countryside.
Jan is an archaeologist with a particular interest in Neolithic and early Bronze Age Britain. He has extensive teaching experience of archaeological theory and later European prehistory, and has completed large-scale fieldwork, most notably at the Thornborough monument complex in North Yorkshire. His seven books and numerous academic papers and articles explore a range of subjects, including the monuments, burials, and religions of the fourth and third millennia BC.
To view the illustrated report of this event follow this link: https://www.yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk/sites/yorkshiregardenstrust.or…
YGT Newsletter Issue 56 - Spring 2025 p1-5