Aldborough YO51 9EP
Andrew Lawson, ancestor of the current owners, bought Aldborough Manor in 1834. He encouraged exploration of Isurium Brigantum, the Roman town on which the village of Aldborough was built, in the 1830’s and 1840’s. It seems the garden of the manor was designed around the Roman remains and it appears to be very much an antiquarian garden. The garden could, however, have had slightly earlier origins.
Currently the site is in two parts; that which is maintained by English Heritage and a further part that still forms part of the grounds of Aldborough Manor. The latter contains a Roman quarry with niches cut in the sides within which statues were set, a viewing mound or ‘mount’, two mosaic huts containing the most northerly in situ mosaics in the country and various pieces of Roman stonework including the remains of the town walls. There are walks throughout the gardens which were planted with specimen trees such as Atlas Cedar and Black Pine.
Twigs Way is a lecturer, writer and speaker who has worked in historic landscapes and gardens for over thirty years. She provides owners of historic landscapes with advice and support and works closely with stakeholders like Natural England and Historic England. She designs and delivers courses for the University of Cambridge Botanic Gardens and is a regular contributor to periodicals such as Gardens Illustrated and BBC Countryfile.
Twigs’ talk will address the context of the gardens at Aldborough Roman site and inform us about the development of gardens built around antiquarian sites or ruins in general.
This is a joint event with the Yorkshire Gardens Trust.
