1) A derelict 18th century walled garden at Marks Hall estate in Essex, England has been restored with the help of landscape architect Brita von Schoenaich. 2) Von Schoenaich divided the garden into five individual garden rooms separated by hornbeam hedges, with different themes but linking elements like a meandering pittosporum hedge. 3) Contemporary handcrafted Blanc de Bierges stone materials were used extensively throughout the garden renovations to provide structure while complementing the existing old red brick walls in a non-pastoral way.

1. LOCATION LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Case Study Marks Hall Schoenaich Rees
Designed to
Suprise
An 18th-century walled garden at the heart of an arboretum
has been restored with five gardens for visitors to explore
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2. LOCATION LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Case Study Marks Hall
Jukes comments: “The garden is unusual
Ancient and modern in that there are walls on three sides and
a lake on the fourth. I was keen that we
should build on this sense of surprise and
I like the Blanc de Bierges because it is
unexpected. It has toned down beautifully
and complements the walls and soft
landscaping.”
For the Marks Hall garden, Von Schoenaich
created five individual garden rooms,
which, from a distance, are hidden from
view by hornbeam hedges. She explains:
“ This design allows the simplicity of the
whole of the garden to be preserved but
also excites the senses with glimpses of
what lies within each garden room.”
She feels that themed gardens have
become such a fashion and are often quite
ephemeral. She wanted to create a design
Just a mile from Coggeshall, Essex, the that respected the atmosphere of the
Marks Hall Estate Arboretum is a garden existing walled garden and did not hide
of trees, the place to wind down, walk
Schoenaich felt the the beauty of the 18th century wall.
and watch wildlife. The estate contains
ornamental lakes, over eight miles of derelict garden was “The garden has a contemporary look
emphasising the change in garden culture
woodland walks and footpaths and a “crying out for order”
from a walled garden which produced
18th-century walled garden.
fruit and vegetables to a pleasure
Over the last three decades the estate garden to be enjoyed by the public.” von
has been restored to its former glory by Marks Hall curator Jonathan Jukes, says: Schoenaich adds.
the Thomas Philips Trust, but the walled “Our objective was to raise the £150,000
The idea was to offer a wide range of
garden had little attention. When the Trust needed to clear, re-contour, landscape
experiences in terms of the use of space
was formed in 1971 the site of the walled and plant the garden.” and materials as well as the heights,
garden had already been cultivated for shapes, colours and seasonality of
It took two years to raise the money - from
300 years. But by the early 1970s it was a planting. Much of the planting forms
charitable trusts, commercial bodies and
mess of scrub and debris, with the only linear strips to emphasise structure - as
visitors - and three years to transform the van Schoenaich felt the derelict garden
reminders of the original planting being a
garden. Marks Hall staff and volunteers was “crying out for order”.
few old apple trees.
carried out the management of the project
Creamy-buff Blanc de Bierges materials-
Trust volunteers tidied up the garden, as well as most of the actual work. which have similar characteristics to
grassed It over and planted borders, but natural stone - are used for paving, edgings,
They were supported by designer Brita
many visitors still found it disappointing seating and steps. Van Schoenaich chose
van Schoenaich, of Schoenaich Rees
that there wasn’t anything special at this Blanc de Bierges for a number of different
Landscape Architects, who came up with reasons. She explains: “We didn’t want
focal point, compared to the rest of the
a flexible plan that, within an overall a pastiche version of a historic garden.
arboretum where a different tree flowers We wanted a contemporary material
framework, allowed the materials and
or fruits every day and the shapes and that would still work well in front of the
planting to be adapted according to the
colours are constantly changing. old redbrick wall. Also, the range is very
money available.
versatile, which means you can design
So, in 1998, the Trust made the walled
garden its project to mark the 100th
Handcrafted materials around a standard product.”
Interestingly, in such a historic setting, She adds that the Trust had been
anniversary of Thomas Phillips Price
keen to use local suppliers wherever
buying the Marks Hall estate. contemporary, hand crafted Blanc
possible: Blanc de Bierges materials are
de Bierges materials have been used
all handcrafted in Cheshire using UK-
extensively. sourced materials.

3. “...Visitors like the originality
of the garden - the feeling
that it’s not frozen in time”
Marks Hall curator Jonathan Jukes
Linking themes
Each garden room is different but there
are linking themes. The first, with its
tilted earth sculpture, is designed to be
The 18th Century wall and contemporary linear seating and steps
calm and contemplative. Apart from the
grass sculpture, the only planting is a
hedge of pittosporum. This appears in one
corner and ‘climbs through’ the boundary
hornbeam hedge into the second garden.
Here the pittosporum hedge meanders
in sweeps, providing a frame for the
perennial planting and a background for
a future seating area. The planting peaks
in early summer, the colours being typical
of the time of year with pink, primrose,
yellow and shades of blue predominating.
The meandering hedge continues through
the hornbeam enclosure to emerge in the
central garden of spheres.
In the fourth garden, a meandering wall Since the walled garden was opened by
In this garden, planting turns into stone topped with Welsh slate echoes the hedge the Duchess of Devonshire last summer,
with a series of clipped box spheres of the second. This wall crosses a Blanc de It has proved very popular with visitors
linking to stone spheres. These spheres Bierges path, which is itself a strong point to Marks Hall. This is partly, as Jukes
harmonise with the two-tier linear seating of visual interest. The paving slabs in two explains, because it is very different from
created from Blanc de Bierges L-modules different sizes are laid to give the path other gardens in the area such as The RHS
and step components. The hot colours of irregular edges. The planting flourishes Garden Hyde Hall, Chelmsford, and The
mid-summer dominate the planting. through late summer into autumn with Beth Chatto Gardens, Elmstead Market.
dark yet vibrant colours.
He says: “We’ve had a tremendous
The final garden is another space of green reaction from people who have visited
calm. Here, the massed horn beams will other gardens and then come on here.
be cut to form a series of undulating green They are delighted and surprised at our
mound. The focal point for the garden is mixture of hard landscaping and planting.
a shallow pool with slate laid on edge to Visitors like the originality of the garden -
create an impression of deep blue water, the feeling that it’s not frozen in time”
even when the area is dry.
The fourth garden room - where a
meandering wall topped with Welsh
slate crosses the Blanc de Bierges path
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4. Blanc de Bierges components used on the Marks Hall Scheme
Saddlebaks
Steps
Retaining Walls
Spiral Stairways
Bespoke
Setts & Slabs
Copings
Pool Tiles
Gullies & Kerbs
Architectural Masonry
Architectural Cladding
Street Furniture
TM
AmphiSystem
Tree Grilles
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