Hidden away behind the houses of Welsh Row in Nantwich
is an Elizabethan walled garden. This was originally part of the
grounds of the adjacent Townsend House built in 1580 for the Wilbraham
family who continued to live there for over 200 years. The house, which
has since been demolished, later became Townsend Brewery. The walls of
small red brick are laid in english garden wall bond, reach a height of
three metres and are capped with stone. Set into the brickwork are three
"bee boles"; niches which held wicker bee hives. The garden featured a
banqueting house, columns, an arbour and canals. The walls are now
crumbling, the land overgrown. The people of Nantwich have for some
years been trying to save the garden but to date have not been able to
raise funds to buy the land which was owned by a property developer with
planning permission for 6 houses. The developer intended to restore and
maintain the walls and provide public access. I was commissioned to
build a 1 : 200 scale model of the proposals which included landscaping
and planting in an elizabethan style. The model included adjacent
context structures finished in white.
A decision on the future of the garden has still not been reached and in the meantime the site continues to deteriorate.
The following images are courtesy of Nantwich Walled Garden Society
 |
| Bee boles on the southern side of the garden |
 |
| An intact length of the wall |
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| Townsend House by Herbert StJohn Jones 1934 |
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