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

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.

A link to an illustrated report on this event will be here shortly

Tudor Croft is a unique house with perhaps the only large private garden built in Teesside in the interwar years which still shows the rare survival of an emerging interwar style, between full-blown arts and crafts and towards a less formal style. The house was bult by well-known brick manufacturer Ron Crossley in 1934 and he chose Backhouse of York to design the garden. The Heagney family has owned Tudor Croft since 1952. When they moved in the garden had become very overgrown and it took ten years to restore with the help of two full-time gardeners and the family members.

Since Mike Heagney’s retirement, he has devoted his time to the 5-acre garden with a rose pergola of 48 pillars built of different Crossley bricks, the fernery and rock garden, water gardens, a trout stream and much more. YGT members joined Mike for a tour of the garden which included his collection of more than 300 hundred varieties of snowdrops.

 Lunch was provided, soup and a roll, after which there was time to buy snowdrops and spring bulbs.

Profits from this visit are very generously being given to the Trust’s grant schemes by Mike and Gel Heagney.

The lands of Howsham belonged to Kirkham Abbey until the Dissolution and the present house (1610 Listed Grade I) was possibly built with Abbey stone.  Thomas Bamburgh bought the manor of Howsham in 1573 and William Bamburgh who succeeded in 1593 gave Howsham Hall its present form. The designed landscape developed in two distinct phases. Firstly in the early 18^th century and secondly in mid to late 18^th century. 

Sir John Wentworth, Lord of Howsham between 1689 and 1720, after remodelling the hall’s east façade, laid out a series of enclosed formal gardens. Nathaniel Cholmley (inherited Howsham 1758), in c.1770 with advice from John Carr and Thomas Atkinson, improved the interior of the Hall and consulted Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown.  The late 18^th century improvements, completed by 1776 included the partial demolition of Howsham village to create a park to the south of the Hall, remodelling of the water mill (Listed Grade II) and the Holms to the west, an ornamental boat house, icehouse, stable block, kitchen garden etc.

Howsham Mill has been restored by the Renewable Heritage Trust, generating hydroelectricity from the waterwheel and the first Archimedes Screw turbine installed in the UK.  There are now two Archimedes Screws!

In 1086 the Doomsday Survey mentions Chenardesburg (Knaresborough) and it is thought that Knaresborough Forest dates from then. The Castle is first mentioned in 1130, and was built in a commanding position above the River Nidd Gorge, but partially dismantled in 1648, the result of an order from Parliament to dismantle all Royalist castles. Join David Rhodes in Knaresborough for a talk about both the Forest - placed in the centre of Yorkshire’s White Rose Forest, and the Government’s coast to coast Northern Forest - and the Castle and its surroundings, and the importance of both in the future. 

Our visit to Dark Star Plants Nursery combined both a plant nursery and a historical garden site. The nursery has been created in the walled garden of what was Rounton Grange. This large house, sadly demolished in 1953/4, was built by the Arts and Crafts architect Philip Webb for Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell, an ironmaster, who had bought the estate at East Rounton on 1866. As well as an impressive house, the family also created a garden which his granddaughter Gertrude Bell, the explorer, redesigned - inspired by her travels in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The nursery, which specialises in plants which have dark flowers or leaves, is run by Shaun Passman and Jenny Gaunt. After an introductory talk, we explored some of the fragmentary garden remains with Shaun and enjoyed sauntering through the nursery.