U P P E R S L A U G H T E R
A beautiful Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, set in the idyllic Cotswold countryside, just above the River Eye. Although much of the house visible today was built during the Tudor period, the property dates back to the Saxon period and is listed in the Domesday book of 1086. The property is a prominent local landmark and has been well documented over the past 100 years, including a lengthy article in Country Life, published in 1913.
Acquired in 2021, the property is being extensively and sympathetically refurbished and restored. There is a desire to refresh existing areas of the garden and to introduce new elements to the design. A ‘Charity Field’, designated to accommodate community events and events open to the broader public. A productive and growing garden. A ‘Zen’ garden, to create a sanctuary and place of retreat. A refresh of the lake planting and it private island area, known as ‘Fairy Island’, to create a magical and safe haven for children and guests to explore.
Design concept
Using the existing framework of yew hedging and parterre gardens, a light touch has been applied, to refresh the planting. Roses feature throughout the planting creating a sense of romance.
Areas which are predominantly inward facing are harnessed, to provide sanctuary and enclosed garden rooms, including the addition of a new Zen garden within an already enclosed space.
New sight-lines have been created beyond the garden rooms, to draw the eye into the wider garden and landscape beyond. A Dutch Canal draws the eye to an existing viewing point, and a new wind garden, visible from the viewing point, is planted with ornamental grasses, connecting the inner garden with the landscape beyond.
A small vegetable garden is replaced with a sizeable kitchen and cutting garden. With its pergola covered walkways and several dining terraces, this space contains flower-producing borders, as well as vegetable growing borders and a large greenhouse, to provide the opportunity for year-round growing.
A newly instated landscape garden with orchard, native trees and wildflower meadows, links to the lower garden below. This area now incorporates a traditional cotswold stone loggia and a natural swimming pool, providing a spot to really take in the glorious landscape setting.
Fairy Island has been totally refreshed and provides a magical space for exploration. The whole design is aimed at integrating the gardens and grounds, to provide the sense of an established garden, sitting comfortably within its beautiful landscape setting.
