Parterres Bright with Flowers: A History of the Walled Gardens at Alnwick Castle as Revealed through Excavations and Standing Building Survey (Pre-Construct Archaeology Monograph Series)

This volume reports on excavation and standing building recording survey carried out by Pre-Construct Archaeology between 2000 and 2004 within Alnwick Castle's walled kitchen garden. The gardens, first established in 1760, formed a small part of the castle grounds and parkland designed by the pre-eminent architect of the period, Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. The book charts the changing fortunes of the garden, including detailed descriptions and illustrations of the layout of successive gardens and of the hothouses and conservatories which supplied the household with fresh produce and flowers. These are set alongside discussions of the plants and produce grown and the people who worked there, concluding with a consideration of the garden in its wider landscape setting.