A theatrical landscaped garden, restored to resemble an intimate Stourhead
Enveloped in its own gently contoured valley, Belcombe Court in Wiltshire is like an intimate Stourhead, complete with a miniature lake and rotunda, a cottage orné and other 18th-century features typical of the picturesque garden style. Owners Paul and Caroline Weiland describe how they were completely bowled over by the landscape when they came to view the house 30 years ago. ‘Walking round the corner of the building, you are presented with this theatre of a garden,’ says Paul. ‘It’s an amazing canvas.’
Before their arrival, the house and gardens had become rundown and, since 1900, no owner had remained there for more than 20 years. ‘These big houses took people down,’ says Paul. ‘I don’t think anyone had spent any real money on it for a very long time. It’s like a diamond that’s been left in the mud – you start cleaning it and then you see all these different facets.’
Prior to 1900, Belcombe had been the home of the Yerburys, a local family, who had made their fortune manufacturing wool cloth. In 1728, the house was inherited by Francis Yerbury, who was known for inventing an innovative method of producing superior quality, superfine cloth. The ambitious Francis had grandiose ideas for his new estate and, in 1734, he commissioned John Wood the Elder, one of the best-known architects of the day, to remodel the 15th-century house in the fashionable Palladian style. While the house was being rebuilt, Francis’s thoughts must presumably have turned to the garden and, although no records of its creation have been found, it is clear from what still exists that he was just as aspirational for the setting as he was for his house. Almost certainly, he had visited nearby Stourhead and other landscape gardens of the day, and was keen to create his own pleasure grounds in the same vein – a badge of honour to represent his wealth and success.
Perhaps he spent most of his funds on the house because, as far as records show, the gardens were not laid out by anyone significant in the landscaping world. A local stonemason was employed to build the rotunda, which Wood mentions in disparaging terms in an essay, criticising the architectural detailing and proportions of the structure, which is supposed to be Doric in principle. One can surmise that he might also have turned up his nose at the positioning of the rotunda, which is unusually near to the house, and perhaps at the cottage orné, which, instead of being hidden discreetly away, is in full view of the house. Perhaps Wood was being sniffy about what he perceived as new money and Yerbury’s tendency to splash his cash around in a rather vulgar way. Whatever the 18th-century scenario, in a contemporary context, the garden and landscape are nothing but charming and, with layers of history still being unpeeled, they present an exciting challenge for the Weilands.
Since they bought the house, Paul and Caroline have set in motion various changes in the garden, adding their own more modern layers, as well as gently restoring some of the original features. Rupert Golby designed a delightful summer garden to complement an 18th-century octagonal stone building, while Arne Maynard, who also worked on Paul and Caroline’s London garden, redesigned the large walled garden. This is on a steep slope behind the house – an awkward site that presented a challenge. By the Weilands’ own admission, it took several attempts to come up with a design that was right for the space. ‘We put in an Italian garden with an olive grove, but it just didn’t work. Then Arne came in and we simplified things right down,’ says Paul. ‘It was the same in the house – we made lots of mistakes. It’s a Grade I listed Georgian house, so we were trying to keep everything pure – but we ended up with what looked like Harley Street waiting rooms. It just wasn’t us.’
In the house, they started again with a more contemporary look. This approach suited them in the garden, too, especially in the walled garden, in which they felt they could do something completely separate from the more classical landscaped areas. Arne introduced clean, wide terraces like giant grassy steps, with prairie-style planting in borders that run up either side – and, right at the top, an infinity swimming pool with a spectacular view back down over the rooftops and the wooded valley. Some of the terraces are now used to grow cut flowers for the house in neat box-edged beds, while smart new glasshouses have been built for raising seeds and tender plants. Cloud-pruned yew and hornbeam is a recurring motif – both in the walled garden and creeping into the areas near the house – joining the dots between the building and the trees in the garden and parkland beyond. There are many beautiful specimens that light up the landscape in autumn, including parrotias, acers, a ginkgo and a particularly fine tulip tree.
Having previously divided their time between London and Wiltshire, Paul and Caroline are now at Belcombe most of the time, and are developing new areas of the grounds. In the past two or three years, Paul has been opening up the woodland slopes above the garden. This area, known as Daniel’s Grove, was added to the estate in 1785, probably by Francis Yerbury’s son, who made a picturesque woodland walk with caves, rustic arches and other surprises along the way. Lost for years under a mass of brambly undergrowth, these features have only been uncovered recently. ‘I’d walked past the ruins so many times and never knew anything was there,’ says Paul. ‘One day, we started clearing, I pulled something away and there was another structure behind. It’s so exciting – like an archaeological dig.’ His latest obsession is restoring the old springs and watercourses that run down through the wood and, to his joy, he has managed to get the historic Belcombe Brook running again, which feeds into two new naturalistic ponds.
‘I love uncovering what might have been here, trying to figure out how to tell the story,’ says Paul. ‘I don’t think the garden can ever be finished: it’ll always be changing. But we don’t want to change things too much. We are only guardians here – we’re just passing through’.
Belcombe Court, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire: belcombe.com. The house and grounds are available to hire for events such as weddings
Eva Nemeth1/3Cloud-pruned yew and box run down the slopes, providing linking evergreen structure, and box-edged beds at the bottom are used for cut flowers.
Eva Nemeth2/3A small stone garden building that provides a transitional point from the shrubbery to the walled garden has been transformed into a shell house by Blott Kerr-Wilson.
Eva Nemeth3/3A view back over the ha-ha towards the house, with a towering tulip tree in full autumn splendour. A modern figurative sculpture adds a contemporary edge to this classical garden.
