The Canal Garden

The Canal under construction, 1973

View towards the Folly, 1973

After a visit to Hidcote Manor in the Cotswolds, Sybil had the idea of creating a “Moon Pool” at York Gate, similar to one created at Hidcote.  Robin felt it was not feasible to “achieve anything similar,” as he felt York Gate is more open with less of a sense of surprise than at Hidcote.  Robin wrote:

“But suddenly, against the background of these thoughts, emerged the idea of the raised canal. It rests against the existing dry-stone wall and, because the wall follows the slight rise in the land, coping on the wall hides the canal from view on the south side, providing that exciting element of surprise. Fitting the canal to the site by building it against the existing wall is unconventional, but successful. In fact, the dry- stone wall had to be taken down and rebuilt. The wall was divided into two, as it were, and the interior of the canal was lined with nine-inch concrete blocks and finished with a coping of grey roofing slates…..The canal was then lined with black, butyl sheeting, which is rubberised rather than plastic.

The canal was built by Lew, a dry stone waller and a splendid countryman. I have seen him working in dreadful weather, with a sack tied round his shoulders or beneath a little shelter he has built with whatever was to hand. We discussed the details endlessly, and I never cease to admire and marvel at the way he has graduated the course of stones under the roofing-slate coping. Lew did not really trust the butyl sheeting: he concreted the base and rendered the sides so that the canal would be waterproof anyway. The rendering was slightly tapered towards the top, to try to encourage any ice that formed to expand upwards and not outwards, which might crack the sides.

19th century stone dolphin, later installed in the Canal, 1965

Dolphin sculpture, in situ, in the Canal

Stone duck and stone crab on ledge

Sybil bought the stone sculpture from a dealer in York

The Canal in 1974

Seen in Autumn from the stone wall

The peony bed in springtime

Iris borders 1970

Tulips lining the Canal Garden path

We filled the canal with water from the tap, and occasionally dur­ing long dry spells it has to be topped up. I never intend to empty it. Many oxygenating plants have been introduced, and plenty of fish and snails, to try to create a balance. As was to be expected, the water went pea-soup green after a few weeks, and then gradually cleared. It sometimes clouds again at the height of summer,and can take two months to clear. It is very difficult to keep the water permanently clear, but I would only resort to chemical aids in des­peration; far better to check the balance by introducing additional plants and livestock. One advantage of the canal being raised is that leaves from trees, which are particularly harmful to the fish, do not blow into the water so easily.”

Six white and yellow water-lilies were planted and a stone dolphin fountain placed at the head of the canal.

“This is a boldly-carved nineteenth-century specimen in a typical attitude, with a curved tail and a happy expression; his open mouth gushes water out over the surface of the canal and he spouts two jets of water into the air. Almost incredibly, we bought him not realising he was a fountain; light soon dawned, but it was many years before we had somewhere for him to fulfil his proper function. Mother saw him in York and fell in love with him but didn't buy him imme­diately because he was rather expensive. Then she decided she couldn't live without him, and luckily the dealer still had him. For a long time he sat at the corner of the lawn at the front of the house.”

A central feature of the Canal Garden is the Peony Bed. Robin describes how he had "long admired a colour photograph seen on the cover of the 'Gardener's Chronical', a rectangular island bed in early spring lavishly planted with varieties of daffodils contrasting with the red of young peony shoots" He goes on "Our own interpretation has been successful ..... Among the peonies planted over the whole bed are many clumps of ten or twelve daffodils, each clump of a different variety." He goes on to say "leading up towards the back of the house is a gravel path, the main rear axis of the garden, which is planted on either side with an iris border.  The border on one side actually forms part of the peony bed, while the other is backed with cordon apples trees to screen the lower kitchen garden ....... they really make a spectacular show much more so than the peopies. The colour range is wide, with an emphasis on blues and purples. I particularly like one I have grown Aline a beautiful mid blue with a well formed flower and a lot of flowers per stem. I did not know what a yellow iris could be until I grew Ola Kala, a splendid butter yellow, though not quite as strong in the stem as some .... The last time I split the irises I remembered an article in the RHS journal 'The Garden' describing a bed ... planted with tulips planted at a depth of a spit or more with irises planted on top ....  so I ordered 250 cottage tulips and carefully planted them between the irises, a spit down."