A Georgian Garden Recreated

The recreated Georgian Garden in Bath as seen from the bottom of the garden. Georgian homes were not designed to be seen from the rear. There is a marked contrast between the magnificence of the frontage in The Circus and the rear view. © Karen Andrews

The unremarkable entrance into the walled Georgian Garden from Gravel Walk at the rear of No. 4 The Circus, Bath. © Karen Andrews

There are many grand estate gardens that can be visited. My recent visit to the Georgian Garden in Bath enabled me to see what an urban garden of the time would have looked like. The original garden from the 1770s had been buried following a change of level. An archaeological dig provided a magnificently preserved layout for a recreation.

Optimum View from the House

Georgian gardens were designed to be seen from the house. They were not seen as an extension of the house or as an outdoor room as they are today. The house’s occupants would have looked down on the garden from above. They would have had to pass through the servants’ areas of the house to access the garden directly.

Perspective

Our modern concept of a garden needs a change of both physical and ideological perspective to appreciate the layout. The two beds running along each wall down the garden are not as straight as they appear, they are deliberately angled to make the most of the perspective from the house.

The Georgian Garden seen from above to appreciate its best aspect. Unfortunately, it is not possible to photograph with the full, central Georgian viewpoint, as the house is not open to the public. Instead, I climbed the steps at the rear entrance to take the above, rather more diagonal shot. © Karen Andrews

A Georgian Garden Uncovered

The Georgian Garden was recreated at No. 4 The Circus in Bath following an archaeological dig at the site. The project was undertaken by the Bath Archaeological Trust with the Bath Preservation Trust and the Garden History Society (now the Gardens Trust). The garden is markedly formal in style. There is no grass. Instead, there are 3 distinctive beds surrounded by gravel and some paving. Topiary is used to clip Yew and Box into neat shapes.

Before the Plant Hunting Craze

My main interest in the visit was discovering which plants were grown in Georgian gardens before the explosion of exotic plants into British gardens. Plant hunting expeditions transformed the British approach to gardening. Unfortunately, the archaeological dig and documentary searches revealed little about the plants that were grown at No. 4. Pollen analysis did not help the investigation either. The garden was recreated using plants known to have been in use in Georgian times within the layout exposed by the dig.

Garden Plants in Use

Despite my initial disappointment, I noted down all the plants growing in the garden from the little plant signs or from recognition. A few photos and a table of my discoveries follow.

An old-fashioned, open Rose of the type loved by bees as opposed to the modern, multi-petalled hybrids. © Karen Andrews

Fan-trained Apple Tree, *Malus domestica* ‘Old Pearmain’. © Karen Andrews

Botanical Name	Vernacular Name	Origin	Comments
Arbutus unedo	Strawberry Tree	Native
Artemisia arbrotanum	Southernwood	Origin uncertain but perhaps E. Anatolia	Grown in British gardens from 995 AD
Buxus sempervirens	Box	Very local as native, widely planted throughout Britain	Clipped and used to mark boundaries to borders
Campanula persicifolia	Peach-leaved Bellflower	Europe, now absent as a native from much of Western Europe.	Introduced into cultivation before 1596
Carex pendula	Pendulous Sedge	Native
Catananche caerulea	Cupid’s Dart	Western North Africa and South-Western Europe	Supposedly used by the ancient Greeks in love potions
Centranthus ruber	Red and White Valerian	Mediterannean	Grown in Britain from 1597
Cornus alba	White Dogwood	Eurasia	Introduced to cultivation in 1751
Dianthus barbatus	Sweet William	Mediterranean, southern and central Europe.	Cultivation in monastic gardens from 16th century
Eryngium maritimum	Sea Holly	Native
Ficus carica	Fig	Northern Asian Minor, spread by Romans and Greeks	Cultivation in Britain from 15th century
Geranium sp.	Geranium/Cranesbill	Native and introduced European species	One flower that was recorded as being in the garden
Hedera helix	Ivy	Native
Helleborus foetidus	Bearsfoot, Stinking Hellebore	Native
Helleborus niger	Christmas Rose	Alps	Brought to Britain by Romans and cultivated during Middle Ages
Ilex aquifolium	Silver Variegated Holly	Native, but variegated cultivated	Georgians were interested in the variety offered by variegated plants
Iris foetidissima	Stinking Iris	Native
Jasminum officinale	Jasmine	Uncertain Central Asia origin, cultivated via Sicily’s Arab-Norman culture	William Turner noted it as garden plant in London in 1548
Knautia arvensis	Field Scabious	Native
Laurus nobilis	Bay Laurel	Mediterannean	Cultivation in Britain dates back to 1592
Lychnis coronaria	Rose Campion	South and especially South-East Europe, and South-west Asia.	Known in Britain by mid-14th century.
Malus domestica	Apple	Kazakhstan	Cultivation brought by Romans
Narcissus poeticus	Poet’s Daffodil, Pheasant’s Eye Daffodil	Mountain’s of Southern Europe	Cultivated in Britain by 1538. Not in flower during visit, but sign denoted its springtime presence.
Nigella damascena	Love-in-a-mist	Mediterannean	Introduced and cultivated since 16th century
Paeonia officinalis	Peony	Southern Europe	Introduced before 1548
Primula vulgaris	Primrose	Native	Only vegetation seen during visit
Pyracantha sp.	Pyracantha or Firethorn	South Europe and South-west Asia	Cultivated in British gardens by 1629
Rosa sp.	Rose	Native	Now widely hybridised
Santolina chamaecyparissus	Cotton-lavender, Lavender-cotton	Mediterannean	Introduced to Britain by 1548
Symphytum orientale	White Comfrey	South Russia, North West Turkey and the Caucasus	Introduced to British gardens by 1752
Taxus baccata	Yew	Native	Topiarised Yew
Thalictrum sp.	Meadow-rue	Native
Verbena bonariensis	Argentinian/Clusterflower Vervain	Argentina and Brazil	Introduced to UK in 1970s. CABI invasive. Notorious self-seeder out of place in Georgian garden?
Veronica spicata	Spiked Speedwell	Native, but now rare protected species in wild	Cultivated varieties
Viburnum tinus	Laurustinus	Mediterannean	Introduced before 1596
Vinca minor ‘Variegata’	Variegated Lesser Periwinkle	Believed native to S., W. & C. Europe, C. & S. Russia	Vinca minor was grown in British gardens from 995 AD. Georgians interested in variegated plants

Table above: Bath Georgian Garden Plant List as seen on 17th June 2022

References and Other Reading

Bath & North East Somerset Council (2022): Georgian Garden.
Bell, Robert D. (1990): The Discovery of a Buried Georgian Garden in Bath. Garden History. Vol. 18, No. 1, Spring 1990. pp. 1-21. The Gardens Trust. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1586977
Biological Records Centre (): Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora
Cuthbertson, Yvonne (2007): Number 4 Bath Circus: A Georgian Garden Reborn. 24 June 2007. TimeTravel.Britain.com
Russiello, James (2007): 070624. Walcot, Georgian Garden of No. 4 King’s Circus. Bath Daily Photo Blog.
Streeter, David et al. (2016): Collins Wild Flower Guide. 2nd Edition. William Collins.
Taylor, Patrick (2003): The Gardens of Britain & Ireland. Dorling Kindersley. (The Georgian Garden p.38).
Wyatt, Richard (2016): Bath Newseum No. 4. 29 September 2016.

Note

Karen does not seek or receive any commercial interest or advantage from this blog. She is not promoting any business venture. She simply loves to share fascinating facts about plants. These pages illustrate her love of plants, botany, biodiversity, gardens and creative expression. There is always so much to learn about plant diversity. This blog is designed as a showcase for photography, commentary on plants and wildlife, gardens and other places visited, horticulture and related topics. Viewpoints are her own, not those of her employer.