Rare curved garden opens for the first time

An aerial image of Berrington Hall and it's curved wall

Berrington's iconic curved walled garden has come back into the care of the National Trust, after over 100 years of being used as a home for livestock by the Cawley family. The garden is one of only two 'Capability' Brown designed curved gardens in the country and is the only one open to the public. Read on to discover more about how we're hoping to restore and conserve this historically significant space.

Built in 1783, the walled garden at Berrington was one of ‘Capability’ Brown’s final designs. It’s one of only two surviving curved walled gardens in the UK that were designed by the esteemed landscape architect and is the only one open to the public.

In May 2019, the rare curved section came back into the care of the National Trust; for over 100 years, this area has been used as a livestock area by the Cawley family. The walls and infrastructure are now in urgent need of conservation work. 

We’ve embarked on an ambitious project to restore, revive and reimagine the walled garden and pleasure grounds; this project not only involves carrying out the urgent conservation work, but also developing the space to showcase creative arts, high horticulture and community engagement to create a 21st century vision for an 18th century garden. We want Berrington to feel relevant and accessible for all and for our supporters to feel the benefit in terms of their mental and physical health and wellbeing.

This is a birds eye visual of how the gardens would look if the project is successful
A birds eye view of the new design layout of the walled garden
This is a birds eye visual of how the gardens would look if the project is successful

We’re currently fundraising to restore this rare survivor of Georgian garden design; the only one of its kind to be open to the public. On your next visit, enter the curved garden and see creative temporary planting that seems to ‘take over’ the remaining farm buildings. Subtropical-style plants, including cannas, Japanese bananas, gunneras and pineapple lillies (evidence shows pineapples were once grown here), will create drama alongside produce such as pumpkins, squashes, courgettes, tomatoes and beans, which reflect the area’s historic use as a productive garden.

You’ll soon see hundreds of wildflowers and sunflowers, along with annual climbers growing up and over buildings to create ‘plant walls’. Some plants have been grown in raised beds set within straw bales, echoing the historic use of straw in both farmyards and horticulture. You can also discover more about the history of the space and our work to conserve it in one of the old barns. 

Hay bales stacked up in a dutch barn

As a conservation charity, we rely on the support of our visitors to ensure that we can carry out these large scale projects to keep places like Berrington here for ever, for everyone. Speak to a member of the team about how you can get involved and support the project on your next visit.