Historic layers

Landscape to 1730

Everingham lies in the Vale of York, four miles south of Pocklington in the former East Riding of Yorkshire. It is on a flat plain on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds, chalky hills rising to 808 feet above sea level. The earliest inhabitants were Mesolithic peoples from around 10,000 to 4,000BC, whose implements have been found there.  Following the Roman occupation, there were Anglian communities in the area from the second half of the fifth century and this was reflected in place names ending in –ingham. 

The first record of Everingham is in the Domesday Book when it formed part of the lands of the Archbishop of York. There was a deer park from at least from the 13th century.

The Constable family ownership of the Everingham estate dates from the early 16th century when ‘Marmaduke [the second son of Sir Marmaduke Constable of Flamborough] married Barbara Sothill, heiress to an estate around Everingham’ . The Constables of Everingham were ‘one of several branches of the Constable family in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Their most famous ancestor, Sir Robert Constable, led the Pilgrimage of Grace and was primarily responsible for the family’s tenacious adherence to the old faith during the late sixteenth century’ . Their strong Catholic faith meant that the estate was often in debt due to recusancy fines and the owners forced to hand control over to either their heirs or other parties to try and reduce the fines imposed.

Philip Constable succeeded to the estate in 1632 that ‘consisted of 3000 acres near Everingham Hall and in Holderness in the East Riding…This property was…still semi-feudal in organization, with a multiplicity of small, unenclosed holdings occupied by farmers, husbandmen, and cottagers’ . In a survey of 1635, the size of the ‘House and Garden’ was put at 2 acres and the ‘Hall Garth’ (an enclosed part of the garden) at 6 acres, the remaining 378 acres being the park .

During the Civil War, the estate was sequestered by Parliament in July 1642 and throughout the Commonwealth period, the family battled to regain control through Sir Philip’s eldest son, Marmaduke. While the return of the monarchy in 1660 helped their cause, being Catholic did not and they continued to struggle with large debts which meant little could be done to improve the estate.

Sir Marmaduke handed control of the estate over to his son, Philip, in June 1674 and the latter with his wife moved into Everingham Hall in 1677. In 1683, following a period of imprisonment, he made repairs to the Hall and garden and in ‘April 1687…he successfully petitioned for a licence to keep deer at Everingham’ . However the succession of William & Mary meant that the threat of imprisonment for Sir Philip was ever present and together with his preference for living in London, his estates were leased out. Francis Stansfield, who had been steward from 1699, took on the lease of ‘the park, six closes, and three rooms in Everingham Hall…for seven years at an annual rent of £65’  in 1702. 

In the same year, Sir Philip Constable directed Stansfield to ‘plant 1000 young trees of Oaks & Elms…[and to] plant sufficient number of fruit trees near the walls of the garden’ . These walls may have been erected in 1683 when Robert Pickering of York was paid to make 160,000 bricks.  

A year prior to his death in 1706, Sir Philip settled his entire estate on trustees to the use of Marmaduke, his son. On his succession, Sir Marmaduke took firm control of the management of his affairs, dispensing with the services of Stansfield. In a survey on the 12th October 1709, the estate immediately around Everingham now totalled 579 acres . Peter Roebuck in his history of the Constables of Everingham notes that ‘seeds purchased abroad enabled Sir Marmaduke to pursue his…passion…[of] forestry, and he patronized a tree nursery at Scorborough from which he supplied his estate.’  

In May 1730, Sir Marmaduke left for the Continent, dissatisfied with life in England, for what was supposed to be a short trip to recover his health but he did not return for 15 years. While away, he left the running of the estate in the hands of Dom John Bede Potts (the local priest but employed as a steward to cover this) and his deputy, Robert Usher.

The old hall  (Figure 3) was not replaced until 1764 but the absent Sir Marmaduke Constable started to make improvements to the gardens from 1730, giving directions to Potts in a series of letters. 

1730 - 1765

The first reference we have to work being done on the estate is a letter from Potts to Sir Marmaduke of the 2nd November 1730, which states ‘About a fourtennight agoe Mr Lawson, and Mr Knowlton came here to consult aboute ye levelling ye Hall Garth; and this day Mr Knowlton came again, to strik ye levil; so that work is begun’ . Thomas Knowlton was the gardener at the neighbouring estate at Londesborough and many landowners in the area called upon his advice and expertise from 1729 after he had achieved a more naturalistic look at Londesborough, owned by Lord Burlington.

Knowlton and Richard Lawson appear to have worked in partnership at Everingham. He is described as ‘Mr Lawson of Mowerby’ and Blanche Henery speculates that Lawson was the gardener at Moreby, 5¾ miles south of York . However Marmaduke Lawson was the owner of Moreby Hall, so he may have been a relative. He certainly was paid for his work and both he and Knowlton also sold plants. In a letter of 23 April 1740, Potts notes that Lawson ‘made you [Sir Marmaduke Constable] a present of 1400 furr [fir] seedlings two years old’ and Knowlton ‘transplanted Scotch furs [Pinus sylvestris L.] of seven years grouth, and were his gift’ .

No plan exists from this period but from a map of 1765 (Figures 4 & 5), we can see the changes made until then. 

The first thing that was done by Knowlton & Lawson was the ‘leveling ye Hall Garth’  on 2nd November 1730. This was an enclosed part near the hall and fruit trees were to be planted there. They were to be planted in ‘boarders’ against a wall.  It seems it had not been planted before as there was debate about whether it should be manured ‘since it is fresh ground’ . From a further letter, it appears that this was in the enclosed area shown in Figure 3, as Sir Marmaduke advises: ‘You must measure over ye two South walls of ye Court before ye house and as many four yards as they measure so many fruit trees I will send you’ . 

The first piece of landscape design referred to in the letters was the planting of an avenue of elms planned in 1731 and executed in early 1732 from the Church stile, going through the Churchyard, Jacksons Garth and back to the house shown in the map of 1765 (marked A). Sir Marmaduke also wanted some trees to screen the house from the road and clumps of trees to be planted in the park: ‘I believe you may find some other Garths yt are bare to ye street, yt will be proper to plant too…If you plant any in ye Park, I would have you put togeather att least 200, or 150 in each parcel. Mr Knowlton will find you proper places and soil.’  However Knowlton & Lawson decided it was not appropriate to plant the clumps until Sir Marmaduke’s return . There was agreement though that the Hall Garth would be ‘stooped raild and painted’  (i.e. fencing erected as seen in Figure 6) and 1500 beech seedlings, provided by Knowlton, be planted. 

In December 1732, Lawson and Knowlton prepared and planted the borders in the Blackburn Garth. This would seem to be a nursery area as Potts says that the plants there would ‘have more air, strick larger roots, and be in less danger when they are planted out into ye Intack ’ . Here, they grew on fir seedlings, oak, ash and elm. Judging by the map in Figure 5, the area to the south of the house to the road seems heavily planted. Additional species mentioned are Scotch firs, plane trees, hazels , sycamores, elders, birch, poplar, ‘ossiers’ [Acer pseudoplatanus] and ‘sarvers’ [Sorbus domestica]  .

The next part of the design was the avenue to the south that appears to have been done in two phases. The first mention in the letters is in June 1739 when Sir Marmaduke requests that ‘I would carry an Avenue down to ye Beck in ye Carr’ . This was still being done nearly three years later as, in February 1742 he asks ‘ Wn you have gott your walk finished to ye road yt goes to Ha[r]swell; I would then have Mr Knowlton tell me if he thinks it proper to carry ye same as far as ye beck in ye New Close, or Carr’.  In the same letter, Sir Marmaduke asks Potts to ‘Propose to Mr Knowlton to make a green walk all along ye two ponds on each side’  however Knowlton did not want to do immediately as he was still doing the avenue. There is no further reference to it but in map of 1765, there is a path by the ponds, marked B.

Except for the trees that were planted, no reference is made in the letters to other plants apart from the note that ‘Mr Knowlton has made you a present of 3000 plants of different sort to ye value of £10’ . As fruit and other trees could cost up to a shilling , it is likely that these were flowering shrubs and perennials. In the period from the end of 1730 to the last recorded payment on the 10th Dec 1743, Knowlton was paid at least £22 16s for his work at Everingham , excluding his supply of plants. 

Sir Marmaduke died in 1746 and left his estate to his great-nephew, William Haggerston, who assumed the Constable name on inheritance. Until he came of age in 1752, his father, Sir Carnaby who appointed a new steward, Chorley , handled his affairs. In this period ‘the pond was stocked with fish, the orchard and plantations expanded’ . On gaining control of the estate, William decided to build a new Hall in 1756 and it was completed eight years later.

1765 – 1854

By 1765, William Haggerston-Constable had succeeded in enclosing the land in Everingham. The survey following the enclosure gives the following: the ‘(new) Hall and other Buildings including old Kitchen Garden’ 8 acres; ‘Fish Pond & Orchards’ 9 acres; ‘Lawn’ 20 acres; ‘Park’ 270 acres and ‘New Kitchen Garden’ 3 acres .

Neave & Turnbull state that ‘a new kitchen garden was built and there is a mention of a sunk fence in 1764-5…Considerable activity in the gardens is recorded in the late 1760s-70s. In April 1778 the steward reported: ‘Mr James Bayne seems to go well on with his business, planting, thinning the shruberys, etc, and the kitchen garden makes a very different appearance for the better than it has done for many years past’.’ . The mention of the shrubberies perhaps an indication of the work completed by Knowlton forty years previously. All the landscape features put in place by Knowlton are still in evidence by 1771 when Jeffreys published his map of Yorkshire (Figure 6).

A map dated 1806 (Figure 7) shows major changes to the landscape including removal of the southern avenue, the creation of the serpentine lake and the removal of the kitchen garden to the north. A local historian, Gill Hodgson, believes this was a ‘working plan’ and these were added later when J. N. Sleed of Kensington made extensive changes in 1826/7. This was following William Constable-Maxwell inheriting the estate in 1819.

From Sleed’s ‘proposal for improvement’ , the following is itemised out of a total cost of £1221 19s 8d: 

• Haha & new brick walls £36 6s 4d

• Sunk fences £28 17s 6d

• Lawns & grounds around the house (10 acres) £160

• Changes to the water £432 18s 4d

• New kitchen garden wall £170 8s

• A Collection of fruit trees, flowering shrubs & evergreens £100

• Planting costs £32

According to Neave & Turnbull ‘Constable-Maxwell’s notes in his memorandum book under 1 April 1826: ‘Sleed came down to give his plans respecting any alteration he might deem fit in the Pleasure Gardens, Park, etc.’ Sleed proposed that ‘the present road beyond the Drawing Room windows’ to the west be removed fifty yards into the meadow so as to conceal it when looking from the house and to extend the Pleasure Ground on that side’…A new entrance road was also planned from the Thorpe road to the north-east, it was to cross the lake by an iron bridge’ .

Also from the map of 1845 we can see that the main development was the pleasure gardens to the north (marked A in Figure 10). The right hand former cleared area now has paths and a long avenue leads to the kitchen garden. These are possibly the limes that remain today.

1855 – 1952

The OS map from 1855 gives us our first accurate ‘snapshot’ of the estate (Figure 11). The main difference from the 1806/1845 maps is the increased informal tree planting particularly to the southeast, along the new road to the southern lodge. The lodge on the Harswell road was built in 1841.

By 1892, the whole of the pleasure gardens had been developed with the left hand side having a series of paths leading to a central point. In this area was a small classical oratory in 1867 . This area was now reached via the middle island in the lake over a couple of wooden bridges. This replaced the bridges that were the crossing points on the right-hand island in the 1855 map. In the pleasure gardens were a rose garden with four Wellingtonias and a lime avenue with perennial borders leading to the kitchen garden (see Appendix 1).

During WW2, like so many other country estates, Everingham was taken over by the military and little work if any was done on the grounds. An aerial photograph taken in 1945 shows the pleasure gardens and the kitchen garden in an overgrown state.

1952 – Present

By the 1950s, Everingham Hall had become a country club and judging from the 1952 OS map, the pleasure gardens appear once more to be looked after with clear pathways again. At this time, the house itself was reduced in size to its former mid eighteenth century proportions with the demolition of the Victorian additions made in 1845-48.

The house returned to family ownership but by the 1970’s, the gardens were in severe neglect (Figure 14) and the pleasure gardens and kitchen garden were sold off to two parties. All apart from the eastern wall were knocked down in the kitchen gardens in the early 1980s.

The Constable family sold the house and park in the 1980s, the latter is now reduced in size due to building (see Figure 15). The lake is also much reduced in size due to the difficulty in supplying water to the eastern end which had to be pumped from the drains to the north.

Current Park

Apart from the plantations around the perimeter of the park, the trees are now thin on the ground due to its use for agricultural purposes and old trees not being replaced. There are now many dead trees in the main area to the east and south of the Hall. Figure 16 shows the location of the trees as at September 2003.

The western avenue remains in place with a view back to the house but the trees are mainly conifer and not the deciduous native trees that were used in the eighteenth century, giving a rather gloomy feel to this area.

The owners plan a programme of replanting, however this is a major exercise and a costly one. Also the site of the former pond from the 18th century is subject to flooding particularly in the winter, so this area would be difficult to plant.

The lake also needs work to repair the boathouse and the bridges that cross the middle island to gain access to the former pleasure gardens.

The area to the west of the house is in better order as it has been maintained and there are some notable old trees here including walnuts and Cedar of Lebanon. In this area is also the disused Catholic chapel.

Former pleasure gardens

Two parties both of whom bought speculatively to use as building land currently own this. No planning permission for domestic or otherwise dwelling is currently sought and the area remains overgrown and neglected. The only remnants of its former glory are an avenue of lime trees and other specimen trees such as at least two Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendron giganteum).

Nothing remains of the former rose garden and the area is covered with broken pieces of wood, self-seeded snowdrops and perennial weeds.

Former kitchen garden

There remains only one wall standing and the area is grassed over with sheep grazing on it. All the glasshouses have been demolished and all that remains of the planting are two overgrown fruit trees near the remaining wall.

Management Plan

The estate at Everingham has three distinct historical ‘layers’. The first is the garden and park started in the seventeenth century and expanded in the second quarter of the eighteenth century, with its formal avenues, woodland, orchard, lake, kitchen garden and probably a pleasure garden next to the house. The second is the early nineteenth century changes which saw the creation of the new lake to the north of the house, the shift of the kitchen garden to a new site to the north and the removal of the formal avenues to the west and south.

The final layer was the creation of the pleasure gardens between the house and lake in the late nineteenth century that included a rose garden, a lime avenue and the planting of specimen trees. One option would be to use just one of these layers as a basis for a management plan but the three main areas, the park (including the lake), the former pleasure gardens and the kitchen garden would I believe benefit from taking a more creative view, that is to choose the period that is most interesting in their history and use this as a basis for long term management.

The park, which belongs to the owners of the Hall, has a long history as it was known to have been a deer park in mediaeval times but it was not landscaped until the mid 18th century. So in the spirit of ‘creative conservation’, it would be advisable to restore the parkland to the features of this date, namely the formal western avenue, the southern plantation leading to the southern avenue and further tree planting, in the form of clumps to the east.

New Western avenue

This was a key feature implemented by Knowlton and Lawson in the 1730’s and its re-introduction would both serve to restore this historic feature and improve the view from the west of the house in terms of design. It would also screen the house from the road. Appendix 2 outlines the plan proposed.

There are already some good specimen trees in this area and this new avenue would enhance this. In keeping with eighteenth century ideas, this should be a double avenue and, to be historically accurate, these should be elms. However given the issue of disease, it is perhaps recommended that English elms (Ulmus procera) and related species should not be used. The Asiatic species are the most resistant (Ulmus parvifolia and Ulmus pumila) but a better option would be to use a lime such as Tilia platyphyllos (Large-leaved Lime).

New Southern plantation and avenue

The southern avenue stops rather abruptly about halfway from the gate at the road to the house. In order to restore this and the surrounding woodland to its mid eighteenth century state, a programme of tree planting should be implemented. Appendix 3 gives the plan proposed.

The trees that should be used are those that Knowlton and Lawson planted in the 1730s, namely:

• Scotch pine (as a shelter belt)

• Oak, Ash, Plane trees, Hazel, Sycamore, Elder, Birch, Poplar and Service tree

• Elm (due to problems with disease, perhaps not the English elm – Ulmus procera and related species)

This would provide more seasonal interest than the current predominance of conifers and would complement the few remaining large trees near to the house.

New clumps & wildflower meadow

To improve the view from the eastern section of the house, more tree planting in the form of clumps (which are also shown on the 1765 map) should be undertaken. These are shown in Appendix 4. Knowlton and Lawson were advised to plant clumps of at least 150 and ideally 200 trees. While this may seem a large number, it will have the advantage of some degree of ‘instant effect’. The list of appropriate trees would be the same as in the southern plantation.

The remaining grassland should be managed as a wildflower meadow to create some interest particularly in high summer. One alternative could be to have a hay meadow where animals are excluded between March and June or July when it is mown, and then grazed again until the following spring. Alternatively, if no livestock were available, it could be left until the plants had seeded (autumn) and then cut back. For both options, wildflower seed mixes are available that contain both annuals and perennials, which could be sown as a conventional crop.

New pleasure gardens in the park

Another proposal would be to create a new pleasure garden to the east between the house and the ha-ha (see Appendix 5). In keeping with the overall style of the 1730’s, it should be similar to ones at Londesborough and South Dalton (see Figure 17). Here there is a central grassed areas surrounded by serpentine paths with shrubs in a tiered effect.

The type of planting of this period has been recreated at Painshill, the estate developed by Charles Hamilton. 

Here the main plants used are evergreens but other flowering shrubs of the period could be introduced. This could include:

• Laurustinus - Viburnum tinus

• Glastonbury Thorn - Crataegus monogyna ‘Biflora’

• Candy Tuft Tree - Iberis sempervirens

• Strawberry Tree - Arbutus unedo

• Crab apple - Malus sylvestris

• Pyracantha - Pyracantha coccinea

• Mezereon - Daphne mezereum

• Wayfaring tree - Viburnum lantana

• Common laburnam - Laburnam anagyroides

• Hibiscus - Hibiscus syriacus

• Scorpion senna - Coronilla emerus

• Bladder senna - Colutea arborescens

• St John’s wort - Hypericum balearicum

• Chaste tree - Vitex agnus-castus

• Tulip tree - Liriodendron tulipifera

• Scarlet flowering horse chestnut (Red buckeye - Aesculus pavia

• Mock orange - Philadelphus coronarius

• Spanish broom - Spartium junceum

• Colutea - Colutea orientalis 

• Guelder rose - Viburnum opulus

• Manna Ash - Fraxinus ornus

• Double flowering Almond - Prunus dulcis ‘Roseoplena’

• Double flowering hawthorn - Crataegus laevigata ‘Plena’

• Bird cherry - Prunus padus

• Whitebeam - Sorbus aria Chrantz

• Judas tree - Cercis siliquastrum

• Bladder nut - Staphylea pinnata

• Stag’s horn sumach - Rhus typhina

• Mountain ash - Sorbus aucuparia

• Lilacs - Syringa vulgaris

Improvements to the lake area

The current lake was constructed in the 1820’s, following the removal of the initial lake further south. It would probably be advisable to retain its position rather than the earlier one to the south, as the cost would be prohibitive. Work however does need to be done on the lake. In particular, the view of the lake is currently difficult from the house due to the overgrown vegetation on the southern bank.

Therefore in order to have a view once more of the lake from the house, the trees should be thinned out at least, if not removed completely. In addition, the wooden footbridges that used to link the western island should be replaced and the vegetation cleared on the island connecting to the bridges. Appendix 6 gives the proposed plan.

The former pleasure gardens and kitchen garden to the north are now no longer part of the main estate. Both are in a poor state of repair with little remaining of the original features dating back to the nineteenth century.

Restoration of the kitchen garden

Looking at the former kitchen garden, there is only one wall remaining, so in order for it to be restored, the other walls should be rebuilt. One proposal could be for the village community to either buy or rent this newly enclosed space on an allotment-type system. The original paths crossing the centre from north to south and east to west should be re-instated, as kitchen gardens were historically divided into four.

Using this as a productive area would be in the spirit of historic restoration, as it will be returning to its former use. Longer term, some of the glasshouses could be reconstructed on the northern wall.

Development of the main pleasure gardens

The main pleasure gardens were at their height in the late Victorian period (see Appendix 1) and appropriate to that period were formal rose gardens and herbaceous borders. These are all high maintenance and while to replace them would be historically accurate, it would not be a practical solution, if this were to be managed as a community project. What are left are some specimen trees (such as the Wellingtonia and the avenue of limes), so any new design should start with these. 

Just to the south of this area (where the lake currently is) was an orchard planned and built by Knowlton and Lawson. So perhaps it would be more appropriate to use this area to plant productive and decorative trees to create a ‘mini-park’ for the village. Appendix 7 gives the proposals for the pleasure garden. In addition to the planting of the orchard, the original paths should be re-instated. 

It would perhaps be interesting to use fruit trees that date from the eighteenth century. From a document  found in the archives for Aldby Park, about ten miles northwest of Everingham, there is a list of apples of the period that would be a starting point (see below):

Pippins

• Nonpareil

• Golden

• French

• Kentish

• Holland

• Aromatick

• Yellow

• Kerton

• Whitmore’s

Russets

• Aromatick

• Diles

• Wheeler’s Golden

• Sikehouse

• Acklam

Others

• Deux Ans (or John Apple)

• Ribston Park apple

• Scarlet Pearmain

• Winter Pearmain

• Mayday Greening

Conclusion

The Everingham park and gardens remains largely underdeveloped and in the case of the park, pretty much intact in relation to its eighteenth century proportions. There is certainly a strong case for the park to return to its historic design using the trees that were planted in the 1730’s. Whilst it is not certain that the remainder of the park was used as grassland, a wildflower meadow would be in the spirit of the period. Also while there is no evidence of such a pleasure garden, the proposed one to the east of the house would significantly improve the view across the park to the new meadow.

The nineteenth century lake has largely lost its aesthetic appeal as it is now surrounded by vegetation on both sides, obscuring the view from the house. While trees should be planted on the northern shore, the southern shore should be cleared to get a view from the house. The vegetation on the island should be cleared to make a path, so that together with the replacement of the two wooden bridges, this would replace the previous access to the pleasure gardens.

Little is now left of the pleasure gardens with the exception of a couple of specimen trees. To restore this to its late nineteenth century heyday would probably be impracticable, given the amount of long-term maintenance required. It this were to be a community project, then the area should have its original paths restored but the planting should be restricted to fruit trees, ideally historical varieties.

The area that was previously the kitchen garden is now a field but despite only having one wall remaining, it could be returned to productive use. To do this, the remaining three walls should be rebuilt and then plots could be divided among interested residents as allotments. Against the north wall, a simplified glasshouse could be reconstructed for the use of all the allotment owners. 

References

Please refer to the original thesis document, which can be downloaded here.

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