Park and Follies
The Park and Follies
The gardens were originally laid out in a formal style made popular by French and Dutch garden designers. It is thought that the lake was originally a straight–sided canal with terraces descending on both sides and a red brick pavilion on the far side from the house close by the site of the present rotunda. Below the lake was a sunken parterre garden shown in a painting of 1710.
When he became master of Halswell in 1740, Sir Charles Kemeys–Tynte set about the restyling and landscaping of the gardens to a lavish standard. He had already begun "naturalising" the formal gardens and the terraces gave way to the sloping lawns that we see today. The current ha–ha was built during the 19th century and replaced the original that was 80 metres to the north (nearer to the approach drive) when the pleasure gardens were much larger.
Looking from the drive towards the North Range (Rock Screen to the left)
Mrs Busby´s Temple
Mrs Busby´s Temple or Rotunda was built in 1755 to a design attributed to
Thomas Wright of Durham and conceals an icehouse underneath. Standing on a
grassy mound above the lake it featured prominently in all the subsequent
paintings and prints of the house, indeed in many representations the house
seems almost secondary to the temple. The temple was actually named in
honour of Lady Tynte´s sister and compares with the rotundas at Stoke
Gifford in Gloucestershire and Culford in Suffolk. In the later designs for
the gardens it became the focus of the vista from the Temple of Harmony back
towards the house.
The Rock Screen
Richard Escott, who was steward at Halswell during this period, recorded the
building of a "Rock Work and the head of the canal on the lawn" in 1754 and
which formed part of the dam. Originally water from the lake emerged through
the screen into a large round pond, which has now disappeared as it was
thought to be too artificial for the new romantic landscape. During tree
root clearance in 2005 a pet cemetery was discovered at the base of the
Screen. Spanning the early 1900s a number of head stones have been
discovered which belonged to some well–beloved dogs. It is hoped that once
work begins in earnest on the restoration of this folly current fragments
will be reunited with missing pieces.
The Pyramid
Probably the most peculiar feature of the garden to survive is the stepped
pyramid built over the well at the southwest corner of the house. It is
topped with a griffon holding the family crest and is thought to date from
the 1740s. It bears an inscription to "a pure nymph" but much of the text is
sadly now indecipherable, but is thought to be a dedication to one of Sir
Charles´ nieces who died unexpectedly in 1744. Originally water issued from
the structure into the tank at the side. This unique design is reputed to be
the first pyramid in England and dates from the period when Egypt and all
things Egyptian were first being studied. Perhaps the ultimate fashion
statement of its day.
The Stable Court
When entering Stable Court, to the immediate left, is a red brick 18th
century coach house with a crenellated parapet currently used as a store.
Continuing round on the east side is the elaborate front of the riding
school, again in red brick, and designed by John Johnson in 1769. Behind
this building can be seen the roof of the earlier cob built dovecote, one of
the few buildings still serving its original purpose. After the riding
school on the east side are estate workers cottages before the south side
where a further coach house mirrors the other at the northern end. On the
west side are more two storey cottages dating from the mid 18th century
complete with a central gothic arch and crenellated turrets - a fashionable
style for such buildings at this time.
Robin Hoods Hut
Tours of the park at Halswell were originally designed as a theatrical
experience. Visitors were taken on a serpentine route through the trees so
to approach Robin Hood´s Hut from the darkened wood. This side of the
building was designed to look as if it was a small rustic thatched cottage
in dense woodland, the exterior being clad in tree bark and knotted logs and
the immediate interior laid with an earthen floor. On entering the building
the doors to the central loggia were opened to dramatically reveal the
spectacular view down to the Bristol Channel and beyond to Steep Holm, the
coast of South Wales with the mountains beyond. The north front of the
building has a completely different character to the south being designed in
the then fashionable gothic taste. There were preliminary designs by Henry
Keene, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum but, as with many of the other
features of the park, the final design may have been down to Sir Charles
himself.
As with the rest of Halswell the building fell into a sorry state until being rescued by the Somerset Preservation Trust and now, having been sensitively restored, is let through The Landmark Trust as holiday accommodation.
Temple of Pan (Patcombe Farm)
During the 1770s Sir Charles set about developing further pleasure grounds
750 metres to the west of the main house at Patcombe. Richard Escott
recorded that a bailiff´s house or Temple of Pan was built in 1771, probably
to a design by John Johnson. The temple is a brick building with a pantiled
roof with an ornamental façade to the north facing down the valley. It has a
central semi–circular recess surrounded by a projecting classical colonnade
and originally a lead statue of Pan stood on a grassy hump 30 metres to the
north. When the temple fell into disuse the statue was removed to Castle
Hill in Devon, but happily the building was later bought privately and
sensitively converted to domestic use in 1989.
Mill Wood (site of The Temple of Harmony)
Mill Wood was once, as its name suggests, a thickly planted wood of mature
trees following a shallow combe downhill with a series of six lakes running
through the centre. A stream, fed by the ponds at Patcombe, rises at the top
in a grotto with large stone niches and there is an inscription referring to
Moses drawing water from a rock. The stream flows through what was the first
lake but damage to the dam has caused the water level to drop significantly.
The wood is no long there but the Temple of Harmony, another folly, once
stood amidst the trees and was an archetypical design statement of the
"romantic" landscape. It is the intention to replant this ancient wood in a
future phase of renovation.
Druid´s Temple
Close by the grotto stood the Druids Temple built in 1769 to a design by
Thomas Wright. It was built entirely of logs and thatch but sadly was
demolished in the 1950s when the wood was felled – an unbelievable piece of
historical vandalism seen from 2006! This photograph dates from the 1870s
and is detailed enough to make it feasible to rebuild this intriguing
structure in the future.
Bath Stone Bridge
At the lower end of the second lake is another dam disguised as a bridge.
Built in 1755 to a design attributed to Thomas Wright it features in the
background of a portrait of Sir Charles thought to be by Hogarth. It is now
in poor condition and has been the victim of insensitive restoration in the
1970s. There is enough of the original structure left to see that this was a
fine architectural essay in proportion and style. Plans are in place to
fully restore this bridge in the coming years.
Between the third and the fourth pool there was originally a tall, rusticated stone arched structure containing a statue of Neptune with water gushing from under his feet but now only one side of the arch remains. Again, a future project of restoration is needed to bring this intriguing element back to its original condition.
Temple of Harmony
In 1764 Sir Charles built the Temple of Harmony to the west of the
penultimate lake in the chain. Styled as a miniature version of the Temple
of Fortuna Virilis in Rome it was designed by Thomas Prowse and dedicated to
the memory of Peregrine Palmer, MP for the university of Oxford, and a
mutual friend of Sir Charles and Prowse. Costing the princely sum of £400
when built it was often attributed to Robert Adam due to drawings that he
made for the interior now kept in The Sir John Soane Museum in London.
The building became extremely ruinous, but in 1993 was purchased and restored by the Somerset Building Preservation Trust and is now run by the Halswell Park Preservation Trust, being open to the public at weekends and on Bank Holidays during the summer. Viewed across the lake the temple is perfectly reflected in the water and forms the far end of the grand vista that once originated at Mrs Busby´s Temple but is, at the moment, obscured by trees and scrub.
The Lodge
Whilst not strictly a folly, the entrance lodge to Halswell House is unique
on the estate. Constructed in the last year of King William IV´s reign in
1836, the thatched dwelling was finished in the then fashionable "Cottage
Orneé" style. This highly sophisticated aesthetic had its roots in the
"picturesque" and was a new category in the incipient Romantic sensibility
of the 18th century. "Picturesque" meaning literally "in the manner of a
picture. The original gates to the Park appeared to open "as if by magic"
upon the arrival of visitors but which were, in fact, worked by a wheel
turned in the lodge itself.
