13 
LONGFORD CASTLE, WILTSHIRE. 
PLATES 8, 9, io. 
ONGFORD CASTLE, within two miles of Salisbury, stands in the midst of a 
noble park, on the banks of the River Avon. It was built by Sir Thomas Gorges, 
from the designs of John Thorpe, and the plan shows much originality, being formed 
of a triangle with large circular turrets at either angle, a scheme said to have been 
suggested by the castle at Orienbaum. Much of this original building is still 
preserved, but additional wings have been built in modern times. The original 
formal garden is shown in old prints engraved by Nicholas Yeates, dating from 
the end of the seventeenth century, but this was swept away when extensive alterations and plantings 
were undertaken between 1790 and 1810, under the advice of “ Capability” Brown. The formal garden 
as it is now was replaced by the third Earl of Radnor between 1830 and 1840, and enlarged by the 
addition of about one third of its present size on the side nearest the house. 
Plates 8 and 9 show the plan of the principal garden, an oblong sunken enclosure, bounded on 
either side by hedges of yew four feet thick, with openings cut at intervals of a few feet. An 
overlooking terrace, bordered by a stone balustraded wall, extends round the garden on all four sides. 
Until within the last few years the end farthest from the house was in the form of a complete semicircle, 
and is so shown on the photograph, Plate 9; it has since been altered, and the plan on Plate 8, 
shows the present arrangement, the centre being marked by a stone temple containing a leaden, statue 
of Flora, the work of Sir Henry Cheere, a sculptor who flourished at the end of the eighteenth century 
(Plate 10). 
The main part of the garden is divided into eight square parterres, with small gravel paths, and 
the centres have large stone vases said to have been brought from Italy by Lord Coleraine about 1680. 
ST. CATHERINE’S COURT, SOMERSETSHIRE. 
PLATES 11, 12, 13. 
T. CATHERINE’S COURT lies in a secluded district amongst the hills, some four 
miles north of Bath, on the borders of Somersetshire and Gloucestershire. It was 
originally a grange belonging to the Abbey of Bath, and the fish-ponds constructed 
by the monks still remain. 
At the Dissolution, Henry VIII. gave the property to one John Malte, the 
King’s tailor, and it afterwards passed into the hands of the Harrington and 
Blanchard families, whose monuments are in the church adjoining. It is said that 
the terraced gardens were laid out by some member of these families. After passing through the hands 
of various other owners, St. Catherine’s was altered and restored by Colonel Strutt, who purchased 
the property in 1840. It afterwards passed to the Hon. Mrs. R. Drummond, who made the bowling- 
green and increased the size of the gardens. 
As an example of a hillside garden the plan of St. Catherine’s Court presents many interesting 
features. The position of the house in relation to its garden is not happy, and it would no doubt 
have been better placed higher up the hill, had it been possible to obtain access from the road below. 
