Thames Landscape Strategy - Hampton to Kew -

The restoration of Orleans House Garden

One of the most challenging parts of my job with the Thames Landscape Strategy is working out the priorities for the coming years set within the framework of the 100-year strategy. Landscape projects by their nature have to take a long-term view and should not be rushed. But this long-term view has to be weighed against all the work that needs to be undertaken now.

The same balance has to be achieved in developing the ‘London’s Arcadia’ project. There are £3.3m of projects to implement in this three year scheme but to achieve our goals designs have to be drawn and money raised now to match lottery funds. One of the most important steps to take the project forward to the next stage is the selection of the design team. Interviews have now been completed and the landscape architects, quantity surveyors and ecologists needed to draw up the package of projects have now been appointed and work will start shortly to design the HLF-funded schemes and undertake consultation.

Whilst the main works are not due to start until early next year there are a series of smaller projects planned for the next couple of months including proposals for Chitty Hole near Petersham Meadows, River Lane in Ham and Orleans Gardens in Twickenham. They have been carefully drawn up so not to pre-empt the design and character of the main Arcadia proposals and have been subject to local consultation. The feedback has been very positive and we have received many constructive comments some of which have been used to modify our plans.

Running alongside these schemes are a series of smaller projects such as volunteer works to conserve wildlife habitats, hedge laying and improved riverside management in Richmond, Ham, Kingston and Molesey planned to take effect later this year. Another area of work the Thames Landscape Strategy has been developing is the conservation of important historic gardens along the riverside. One of these is at Orleans House Gardens and recently a holistic management plan has been developed by the Thames Landscape Strategy working in partnership with Richmond Council, the Garden History Society, the National Trust and local residents.

Orleans House and gardens have a long association with the Thames Landscape Strategy, both by reason of its beautiful riverside location and for its wonderful collection of paintings. Whilst the woodland garden forms a delightful semi-wild walk between the gallery and Marble Hill, their present condition is in a poor state of repair and all parties agree that restoration is urgently needed. Without this work the tree stock will continue to decay, diversity will decline and any surviving historical features could be lost.

Although it is agreed that ‘restoration’ is needed, the question concerning the form that this work should take has been open to some discussion. As Orleans House Gardens have undergone many transitions in their 300-year history which period in their development should be chosen for the restoration?

This dilemma is a commonly asked question in conservation so we contacted the Garden History Society for expert advice. Their survey demonstrated that the most important date for any renewal of the garden in an historical sense is 1815-1817 when Louise Philippe, Duc d’Orleans lived there and the house became known by that name. Although gravel digging in the 1920s destroyed much of the historic woodland gardens, the general effect we see today, although somewhat wilder than intended, is very much in keeping with the ideas of the time, known as the Regency period.

It is proposed to establish a Regency garden in the style of the ‘original’ based around the gardening principles set out in the early 19th Century. The proposed plan will re-establish the woodland walks, shrubberies and glades of the period without the need to remove the 20th Century tree growth in order to retain much of the garden’s current charm and wildlife benefits. The plan has had to account for current patterns in use, vandalism and limited public funds both for the restoration and long-term management. Over the next twelve months local experts out will carry a survey of the garden’s flora to find out exactly what is growing before the detailed conservation plan is drawn up.

To start the restoration, the link between the Octagon and the Thames will be re-opened and a few dying trees in the woodland garden will be removed to be positioned nearby to slowly rot down, forming an important wildlife habitat. Care will be taken to remove only those specimens (or individual branches) that are necessary and work will be constantly monitored to ensure minimum intervention.

Nationwide, few Regency woodland gardens have survived to the present day as they were overtaken by more intensive Victorian bedding out schemes. At Orleans, the restored garden would be an important contribution not just for the local area but also to the national garden collection. Like all our work though, the planned scheme is a mixture of short-term gain set within a framework of a long-term plan. It’s an exciting prospect and who knows maybe even the nightingales, once a common feature in the garden may one day return.

River fact

In the Regency period, landscape designers began to imitate the natural mixed planting to be found in hedgerows on the edge of commons and forests. The shrubs, including dogwood, viburnam, roses, thorns and lilac were planted and into the spaces were placed flowers such as hollyhocks, lilies, peonies, foxgloves and michaelmas daisies. Up the bare trunks of trees were grown passion flowers, flaming nasturtiums, jasmine, and honeysuckles to finish the picturesque scene. The aim was to produce, as far as possible, a natural hedgerow effect within a more formal setting.

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