A sensitive contemporary design from Alistair Baldwin has drawn out the unique history of a medieval burgage plot, once a hive of industry, nestled on the slope of Richmond Castle in North Yorkshire. Photographs Eva Nemeth

By Jack Wallington

Published: Tuesday, 13 June 2023 at 12:00 am

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With a defining rill, an industrial ruin and views to a distant folly, the garden at Linton House in Richmond, North Yorkshire expertly and successfully uses modern form and style to bring its past to life. “Our clients, Chris and Nigel, are both classical musicians, and are active in Richmond’s conservation and historical societies,” explains designer Alistair Baldwin about the importance of weaving the history of the town into the design. “Culloden Tower, dating from the mid-18th century, is one of the town’s landmarks, and the view of this folly from the garden was one of the reasons the owners fell in love with the property.”

One of Richmond’s remaining burgage plots – a medieval term for a long, narrow slice of rented land behind a relatively small-fronted townhouse – the house is perched on a slope above the River Swale. The neighbouring gardens are stepped using huge retaining walls either side of Linton House, with a drop of more than five metres on the west side. This elevated position works wonders for the drainage, and, because the west-facing garden runs parallel to the slope, the actual effect is that of a south-facing garden.

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In Richmond, as in many other towns, burgage plots were built around the castle and originally held buildings for craft and industry. “It was about working from home,” remarks Alistair, drawing parallels between medieval practices and the new ways in which our work patterns are evolving today. “Cottage industry from home was small in scale but formed an important part of the economy.” Immediately struck by the linearity of the site, Alistair made sense of the strip of land by dividing it into three separate areas: the Idyll near a new extension at the back of the house, the Stage in the centre with a lawn, and the secluded Den at the far end.

 

At the rear of the house, a stunning, full-length rill runs along the length of the site. On the right, the ruin of an old workshop has been spruced up and sympathetically incorporated into the modern design.

Climbers and a trio of topiary balls in tall, Corten steel containers raise the eye up in a relatively narrow, shaded side return, transforming a tricky space into a clean, minimalist feature that echoes materials used further into the garden.

 

Garden in brief What Unique Richmond burgage plot fusing historic features with contemporary design. Where North Yorkshire. Size 55m x 10m. Soil Stony soil over clay. Climate Temperate. High rainfall with cold winters. Although the garden is west-facing, a large wall on the east side makes it feel more like
a sheltered, south-facing garden. Hardiness zone USDA 9a. 

A luxurious, full-length rill draws you into the garden and frames the beautiful perennials: Nassella tenuissima, Lavandula angustifolia Little Lady (= ‘Batlad’), Astrantia major ‘Rubra’, Erigeron karvinskianus and salvias.

The burgage workshop ruin was made safe and turned into a key feature of the garden with paths running through it. In the foreground, Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’, Verbena bonariensis and a selection of Mediterranean herbs take on autumnal hues.

Alistair has played on the linearity of the plot with the path and rill to create a bold, central, line of sight, broken by stepping stones and crossed with small bridges to add excitement. These shapes reflect the medieval burgage plot’s heritage and Alistair’s design for the hedges and topiary echoes this.

An existing Hamamelis x intermedia and beech hedge, which provide impressive colour right through winter, act as a backdrop to the soft, textural perennial planting.

Evergreens Euphorbia characias ‘Humpty Dumpty’ and Santolina chamaecyparissus provide year-round structure, while Salvia nemorosa ‘Amethyst’ and Salvia x sylvestris ‘Schneehügel’ provide colour from their flowers right up to winter.

Corten steel bridges cross the rill, which forms the spine of the garden, leading you along generous borders of perennials and ornamental grasses, including Sesleria autumnalis
and Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’. Everything blends with the historic walls.

In time the pleached Malus ‘Evereste’ will create an ornamental hedge that will screen the raised neighbouring garden, while providing opportunities for underplanting at garden level.

 

The buff colour of vertical Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ glows against the russet of a trained beech hedge (Fagus sylvatica), in perfect harmony with the colour of the Richmond local stone used for the surrounding buildings.

Three distinct areas divide the long burgage plot into usable spaces, linked by a main path and smaller pathways through the planting to increase the sense of journey and exploration.

USEFUL INFORMATION Find out more about Alistair’s work at alistairwbaldwin.co.uk

 

 

 

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