The development team includes:
- Commercial Director: Andrew Mercer (from 27 August 2010).
- Design Team Leader. Architects Geoff Rich and Miriam Kelly of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios http://www.fcbstudios.com/
- Garden and landscape architect Dominic Cole of Land Use Consultants http://www.landuse.co.uk/
- Engineer Gifford http://www.gifford.uk.com/
- M&E consultants Ove Arup http://www.arup.com/
- Quantity surveyor Turner & Townsend http://www.turnerandtownsend.com/
- Website development and hosting Keswick Computer Services http://www.keswickcomputers.co.uk/
An interview with Dominic Cole
New to the Lowther Castle and Gardens team is Dominic Cole, one of the UK’s foremost landscape architects. He was lead designer for the Eden Project, worked on the restoration of the Lost Gardens of Heligan, and advises English Heritage and the National Trust. In an interview for Lowther Castle and Gardens Trust, he shares his passion for historic parks and gardens and his latest project, Lowther.
What was your first impression of the gardens of Lowther?
I was bowled over by the setting and subsequently read a quote by Lord Macartney- c.1794- "if any place can be said in any respect to have similar features to the western part of Van-shooquen (in China, where he was ambassador 1793-4) it is at Lowther hall" --- the extent of prospect, the grand surrounding objects, the noble situation... etc. In the eighteenth Century aesthetes and garden critics began to look beyond the garden wall and to consider the context and views beyond - previously 'nature' was considered rough, terrifying and somewhere to be avoided. Part of the unlocking of this fear was the concept of 'sharawadgi' - the borrowed view that was used in Chinese gardens. Lowther has a quality of light & magnificence of setting that puts it into a league of its own.
A view from Lowther gardens through a tunnel of yew to the landscape beyond.
How does Lowther compare with other abandoned gardens?
I was amazed to see the callous disregard for the garden in the straight lines of commercial forest trees planted as a complete overlay - across boundaries, through rock pools, etc. However the underlying seventeenth century structure of the garden (below) is so powerful that it survives, remarkably intact and able to be revealed. It is certainly hoped that the bones of the garden will be clear and understandable - levels, banks, rides, enclosures, etc - and that they will be considered one of the great gardens to visit in the UK.
How do you get the balance between access for all while still giving the visitor the sense of discovery?
Any visit to a garden for the first time is a discovery - here it will be a BIG discovery - and on subsequent visits - as with any good garden - discovery will continue - from seasonal change, light, what you have seen elsewhere, etc. Access for all is implicit in any project we work on and it is vital that everyone enjoys the same opportunity to discover.
How soon will we be able to visit?
My view is that there is already plenty to see if you know what you are looking at - so it will be a question of logistics - how can we admit people safely and enable them to understand what they are seeing - and to allow renovation, etc, to carry on at the same time.
What are your plans to conserve the fairies*?
There are things living in every garden - we expect to work alongside them.
*There have been sightings in the gardens of the evidence of fairies.
