Caversham Court

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Caversham Court is a public garden located on the north bank of the River Thames in Caversham a suburb of Reading, England. The park lies within the St. Peter’s conservation area. Caversham Court was the name given to the Old Rectory of Caversham. The park is listed as Grade II in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

[edit] History

The medieval community of Caversham was clustered on the north side of Caversham Bridge to the east of St. Peter’s Church, which was built in the 12th century. The third Earl of Buckingham donated the land for the church and neighbouring rectory, together with a considerable amount of land around it, to the Augustinian Abbey of Notley near Long Crendon in Buckinghamshire. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, these lands were given to Christchurch College, Oxford. Over the next four centuries, the land was occupied by some of the most influential families in Reading, who improved and enhanced the site. A Tudor house was built around two courtyards; its beautiful timber-framing led to its nickname of the Striped House. It had a 1638 staircase, with bullet holes from a Civil War attack, and an elaborate decorated plaster ceiling. ^[1] Parts of both are preserved in the Museum of Reading.

The gardens were laid out between 1660 and 1681 by Thomas Loveday as a private retreat surrounding the house. ^[2] In the 1840s, the rectory and garden walls were rebuilt to a design by A W Pugin who gave the house a castellated facade with fretwork balustrading. In 1933 it was sold to Reading Corporation, who demolished the house. Initially there were plans to use part of the site for road building. However, the gardens were opened to the public in Easter 1934. Caversham Court is currently owned by Reading Borough Council.

The garden contains a number of Grade II listed buildings and features: the riverside garden pavilion (gazebo), the retaining walls to the raised walk leading to the gazebo, the screen wall along the north east boundary (early to mid 19th century), the retaining walls of axial east-west garden terrace walk (17th century, probably rebuilt in the 18th century), the 17th century stables and the retaining wall of St. Peter’s Churchyard and Church of St Peter (the crinkle-crankle wall) (18th century). The two-storey gazebo, built in 1663, is one of the oldest remaining examples in the country. It was partially restored in 1979/80. ^[3]

[edit] Garden Layout

The gardens are laid out on three terraces and cover an area of 1.3 hectares (3.2 acres). The lower two consist of lawn dotted with mature trees; the upper terrace is the site of the old rectory and the original kitchen gardens which were converted to allotments during World War II as part of the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign. The allotments in the northwest corner preserve the boundaries of the kitchen gardens with its ‘crinkle–crankle’ wall and a tall yew hedge forming the southern boundary. The north boundary with the churchyard is 4 to 5 metres higher than the gardens below. In the northeast is the stable block of the former house.

Caversham Court contains a number of fine tree specimens in particular, a large Wellingtonia, a Bhutan Pine (Pinus wallichiana) ^[4], a cedar of Lebanon, an Atlas cedar and a black mulberry near the main entrance. There are also massive yew hedges surrounding the allotment gardens in the north west of the park and an old layered yew, a feature popular in the seventeenth century, whereby a 'family' was created by layering to create a complete ring of 'offspring'. ^[3]