Subscribe now for full access and no adverts
Over the past 15 years, a series of research projects at Wrest Park, a 19th-century country house in Silsoe, Bedfordshire, has revealed in detail how the grounds of this estate evolved over the centuries. This work was recently highlighted during the reopening of the Fort Cumberland science facility (see CA 425) as one of the top ten projects carried out by Historic England in the past 75 years.
It ranged from the macro to the micro, with Historic England and English Heritage looking at the whole landscape – across the park and in parts of the surrounding countryside – using aerial photographs and airborne laser-scanning data (LiDAR) in order to understand better both the buried remains and those above the surface. Other ‘non-intrusive’ techniques such as geophysical survey uncovered even more details, as well as exploring the archaeological earthworks within the gardens. These revealed a deep history to the grounds and confirmed that the remains of an earlier house and gardens sit under the lawns behind the present residence. The team then used targeted excavation to explore the former gardens in the Mithraic Glade, Duke’s Square, and Lady Duchess Square, which identified a structure on the site of the lost ‘Root House’ from the 1740s, as well as foundations for garden statuary and sand footpaths. Finds and environmental evidence from parts of the site have undergone expert analysis, and documentary research used maps, plans, and other archive material to link the physical, and often hidden, remains to the history and development of the house and gardens.
Overall, the comprehensive research at Wrest Park is testament to how applying multiple techniques can help organisations like English Heritage to better understand, restore, and present sites.
Find out more at https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports.
Text: Helen Winton / Image: Neil Linford, Historic England
You must be logged in to post a comment.