Kirby Hall and its gardens

Plans for garden-restoration by English Heritage at Kirby Hall provided the opportunity to increase the understanding of the site by combining the consolidation of its physical remains with a detailed archaeological examination. The results from investigation carried out between 1987–94 contribute important evidence for the development of the series of formal gardens from Elizabethan origins towards an apogee in the late seventeenth century, when they enjoyed the reputation of being among the finest gardens in England. The creation of the Great Garden and its terraces caused a major transformation of scene at around the beginning of the seventeenth century. Preparatory clearance and other earthmoving involved the demolition of part of the old village of Kirby, though some remains became incorporated in the new West Terrace and a mount preserved part of the site of the former church and associated graveyard. Alterations and later remodelling attest changes in gardening fashion, culminating towards the end of the century when surrounding walls were pulled down, architectural features were moved, and the West Terrace was given the appearance of a grass-covered bank. At the same time the adjacent garden floor was relaid with designs picked out in cutwork. A range of contemporary documents corroborates the impression of an increase in gardening activity and elsewhere the results of other excavation, allied with widespread geophysical prospection and other analytical non-destructive field survey, provide evidence of further garden-areas, different usage, and the overall landscape effect. In addition, a series of lost structural features associated with the Elizabethan and later house has been identified. The scale of investigation and its results arguably place the research at Kirby Hall in the vanguard of Garden Archaeology as a particular discipline, and it is therefore opportune to review the value of such types of investigation

Archaeology · Excavation · Geography · Mount · Terrace (agriculture · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Engineering · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · History

• Estate Landscapes in England

  Tom Williamson•Interpreting the Early Modern World•2011

  Incluir item

• Marked window leads

  Geoff Egan•Post-Medieval Archaeology•2012

  Incluir item

• Buildings analysis at Coombe Abbey, Warwickshire, 1993–94

  Iain Soden, Tony Baker et al.•Post-Medieval Archaeology•2006

  Incluir item

• A guide to artifacts of colonial America

  Ivor Noel Hume•A guide to artifacts of colonial…•1991

  Incluir item

• Clay Pipes for the Archaeologist

  Adrian Oswald•Clay Pipes for the Archaeologist•1975

  Incluir item

• An Evaluation of Archaeological Techniques Used at Castle Bromwich Hall, 1989-90

  Christopher Currie, C K CURRIE et al.•Garden History•1991

  Incluir item

• The Gardens of William and Mary

  Graham C Gibbs, David Jacques et al.•Garden History•1988

  Incluir item

• English Vernacular Houses

  R W Brunskill•Vernacular Architecture•1976

  Incluir item

• English Vernacular Houses

  R W Brunskill•Vernacular Architecture•1976

  Incluir item

• The Archaeology of the Flowerpot in England and Wales, circa 1650-1950

  Christopher Currie, C K CURRIE•Garden History•1993

  Incluir item

• An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the County of Northampton 1

  A E Brown, Alec Brown•Archaeological Journal•1976

  Incluir item

• London Museum Medieval Catalogue

  M J Swanton•Archaeological Journal•1969

  Incluir item

• An 18th-Century Chamber-Pot from Winterton, Lincs

  Peter Brears, P C D BREARS•Post-Medieval Archaeology•1970

  Incluir item

• Excavations at the Royal Dockyard, Woolwich, 1972–1973

  T W COURTNEY•Post-Medieval Archaeology•1975

  Incluir item

• Marks on milled window leads

  Geoff Egan, SUSAN D HANNA et al.•Post-Medieval Archaeology•1986

  Incluir item

• The finds from the cellar of the Old Hall, Temple Balsall, Warwickshire

  Eileen A Gooder, EILEEN GOODER•Post-Medieval Archaeology•1984

  Incluir item

• The Wealth of Five Northamptonshire Families 1540-1640

  W G Hoskins, M E Finch•The Economic History Review•1958

  Incluir item