Can you help Jane Carr with her research into hot walls?
I am a second year student on the Diploma in Garden History course at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh (RBGE). My next assignment is a Specialist Essay and I have chosen the subject of Hot Walls in walled kitchen gardens.
I have done some preliminary research to find out more about their construction and hope to visit some existing examples soon. I have the results about a survey of walled gardens in Oxfordshire but am trying to find out where examples can still be found.
It would be very helpful if you could let me know if you have a surviving hot wall in your walled garden so I can build up a map of their distribution. If you have one and you are not too far away it would be lovely to visit and photograph etc.
Please feel free to contact me via email if you would like further information
With many thanks and kind regards, Jane Carr
Hi Jane,
I used to work at Archerfield Walled Garden in Dirleton, East Lothian. They would have heated walls when built them in the 18th century. Believed to have been designed or built by John Hay. Although there isn’t much to see now, there are sheds at the back of the wall where you can make out a fire opening, but these are now part of the residents’ property so would require special permission. There were bees residing between the two walls in the cavity when I was there. If you were out that way I would suggest contacting Kerry Lyall, Head Gardener through their website.
Also Johanna Lausen-Higgins had a diploma student Doreen (possibly Wilson) who studied the life of John Hay and she may have a list of gardens he built with heated walls from her research. Might be a copy in the library?
Hope that might help you in your studies,
kind regards,
Erica
Hello Jane, there’s one near me at Croome NT in Worcestershire. The walked garden is privately owned but open from the spring on certain days and they’ve been restoring their hot walls. More here https://croomewalledgardens.com/
Very best, Lisa
Ps currently doing the RHS 2 course at RBGE!
Hi Jane, one of the best wall gardens that contains ‘hot walls’ and associated equipment is at Calke Abbey, one of the best preserved walled gardens I have come across. Much of the contents is untouched from the day the NT took over. I have images, should they be of interest. You can contact me at hello@growmad.co.uk – I have added a link to some of Calke Abbey’s records if it helps. Regards, David https://heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRecord.aspx?uid=MNA112923
There are many in Scotland. See the Inventory of Gardens snd Designed Landscapes in Scotland which is online. Sure you know this. You could get in touch directly with Historic Environment Scotland or whatever it’s called now. The National Monuments Record should have illustration.
The Scottish Garden History Society which I’m sure you know
Hi Jane,
There is one at Upper Langford, N Somerset which is listed. It was built by the Rev Thomas Sedgewick Whalley 1746-1828. It was orginally listed as a bee bole but I sorted that out! It shold still be there and accessible.I wrote a book about the man. Send me your email address and I will send you the images I can also post you a copy of the book.
Chris
Hi, I know of a hot wall in Bishopthorpe, just south of York. It was built between 1777 and 1785 by one of the Archbishops of York (Markham). The walled kitchen garden is associated with the Archbishop’s Palace Estate, owned by the church commisioners but let to a charity called Brunswick Nursery which still uses the walled garden to grow vegetables and fruit. You would need their permission to visit. There is also a hot wall in the kitchen garden at Sledmere House (between York and Hull) which is open to the public. I hope this helps.