Swiss Cottage and Gardens
Part of the Swiss Gardens at Old Warden in Bedfordshire, part of the Shuttleworth Estate.
At the highest point and in the centre of the garden is the Swiss Cottage. Used as a teahouse, it has with a cleverly hidden lower ground floor where the food could be prepared.
The Swiss Garden at Shuttleworth was created between 1824 and 1832. It was the project of a wealthy young gentleman, the 3rd Baron of Old Warden Lord Ongley, whose family had bought the estate in the 1690s.
When the garden was complete, he threw extravagant parties and even got his servants to dress up in Swiss costume to complete the look.
Creating the ‘mountainous’ effect of an alpine scene in the flat Bedfordshire countryside would have been a particular challenge.
Excavated soil was used to create embankments and mounds that give the garden its distinctive appearance. In addition, all of the ponds were intentionally created, after a nearby river was dammed. The style is clearly influenced by medieval groves, with the tall trees in the garden creating a canopy and, in places, natural covered walkways.
This clever use of earthworks, shrubbery, trees, paths, little lakes and follies transformed the garden into what a contemporary visitor described as a ‘fairyland’.
Swiss Cottage and Gardens
Part of the Swiss Gardens at Old Warden in Bedfordshire, part of the Shuttleworth Estate.
At the highest point and in the centre of the garden is the Swiss Cottage. Used as a teahouse, it has with a cleverly hidden lower ground floor where the food could be prepared.
The Swiss Garden at Shuttleworth was created between 1824 and 1832. It was the project of a wealthy young gentleman, the 3rd Baron of Old Warden Lord Ongley, whose family had bought the estate in the 1690s.
When the garden was complete, he threw extravagant parties and even got his servants to dress up in Swiss costume to complete the look.
Creating the ‘mountainous’ effect of an alpine scene in the flat Bedfordshire countryside would have been a particular challenge.
Excavated soil was used to create embankments and mounds that give the garden its distinctive appearance. In addition, all of the ponds were intentionally created, after a nearby river was dammed. The style is clearly influenced by medieval groves, with the tall trees in the garden creating a canopy and, in places, natural covered walkways.
This clever use of earthworks, shrubbery, trees, paths, little lakes and follies transformed the garden into what a contemporary visitor described as a ‘fairyland’.