Studley Royal Park

Studley Royal Water Garden is a Georgian water garden in North Yorkshire. Since 1986, the garden is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Royal Park Studley with the ruins of Fountains Abbey ."

History

1693 bought John Aislabie, MP and later Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Whig administration, an overgrown wooded valley along the small river Skell. After the financial scandal of the South Sea Company in 1720 Aislabie lost not only his political offices, but also the honor of rights. Aislabie was declared one of the main culprits of this speculative bubble because he was the law introduced to take over a large part of the British national debt through the South Sea Company in Parliament. He moved back to Yorkshire and devoted himself exclusively to the design of the water garden of Studley Royal, with whom he had begun in 1718. After his death in 1742 his son William led up the torch, bought the site of Fountains Abbey and integrated it with a deer park in the landscaped gardens.

Garden

Studley Royal became the " La Théorie et la pratique du jardinage " designed by Antoine -Joseph d' Dezallier Argenville by its owner, John Aislabie under the influence of John James' translation. This work of the French baroque garden is the successor of André Le Nôtre garden art. Despite these influences, a garden that not only corresponded to the baroque form in its overall design was born. Studley Royal is a garden of the transition between Baroque and scenic style. He is the most important garden of England from the early 18th century.

Shaping

The lower channel is the approximate running in a north-south direction of the main axis, which is aligned to the "How Hill Tower " in the south of the park. The upper channel defines a second axis which with the hill " Tent Hill " combines the Palladian " Banqueting House ", the Aislabie 1724 enlarged artificially. The channel began in the " Rustic Bridge". This was the border of Aislabies land ownership until 1724 a lease him was the possibility in the south of Studley include the land in the water garden. A reservoir, the half-moon pond was created. In the north, the garden is completed by a formal balustrade and a cascade that forms the link between the artificial lake in the valley and the ruins of Fountains Abbey on the hill. The vast circular expanse of the moon - pond is the center of the garden. He is flanked by two ponds in spandrel form. The lawns of the garden were bordered with yew hedges and planted the slopes of the valley of beech and elm.

Buildings and art

In the 30s of the 18th century, especially follies and the sculptural decoration were added to the garden. Thus, the entrance pavilion, a " Temple of Fame " called monopteros emerged that former orangery was converted into a " Banqueting House ", and on the opposite side of the canal created the octagonal observation tower from 1738 and a temple of Venus with a domed roof. A Doric temple of Hercules at Moon Pond was transformed by Aislabies son for the " temple of piety ." The " Anne- Boleyn - seat " also called " The Surprise View", offers a magnificent view of the ruins of Fountains Abbey and the Crescent Pond. Old paintings show that at this point there was a statue of Henry VIII 's second wife; one follows the legends, this statue was the head under his arm and turned her back to the abbey. On the Moon Pond lead statues of Bacchus, of Galen and Neptune serve as an eye- catcher. Other elements in the water garden of Studley Royal are the serpentine tunnel and the hermit cave, a popular detail in Georgian gardens.