Gate and gate piers to the north of The Grand Descent at Shrubland Hall

Summary

Ornamental gates and gate piers probably dating to the third quarter of the C19.

Reasons for Designation

The ornamental gates and gate piers, probably constructed in the third quarter of the C19, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* the tall formal gate piers have a commanding presence which contrasts, surprisingly successfully, with the highly ornate wrought iron gates, their intricate diagonal patterns imparting an almost restless effect;

* it has a notable design demonstrating a high quality of craftsmanship.

Historic interest:

* it forms an impressive feature in the landscape, bearing the coat of arms of the Middleton family on the overthrow and marking the boundary between the gardens and the parkland;

* it is associated with the highly gifted gardeners and patrons who created the gardens at Shrubland, widely considered to be the most elaborate and famous gardens in Suffolk.

Group value:

* it has strong value with the Grade I registered park and garden and the Grade II* listed Hall, along with the many other listed buildings situated throughout the estate.

History

The Shrubland estate is thought to have originated with the building of the Old Hall by the Booth family in the early C16 but in the 1770s the architect James Paine (1717-89) was commissioned by John Bacon to design a new hall on a new site. This Georgian building still forms the core of the present hall and occupies a dramatic site at the top of a steep escarpment. Sir William Middleton purchased Shrubland in 1788 and the same year commissioned Humphry Repton (1752-1818) to suggest improvements, some of which were carried out. Sir William Fowle Fowle Middleton inherited the estate from his father in 1830 and had the Hall extensively remodelled by the architect J P Gandy-Deering. In association with his nationally renowned head gardener Donald Beaton (who remained in charge at Shrubland until 1852), Sir William and Lady Middleton developed an elaborate and complex collection of gardens by the Hall and at the foot of the escarpment. In the late 1840s (possibly 1848) they commissioned Charles Barry (1795-1860) to continue to turn their ideas for an Italianate house and garden into reality, and it was during this time that Barry oversaw the creation of the Balcony Garden, the Descent, and the Lower or Panel Garden. The gardens were finally finished in 1854.
After his death in 1860, Sir William's cousin Sir George Nathaniel Broke Middleton took over the estate which in 1882 passed to his niece and her husband James St Vincent, fourth Baron de Saumarez. During their period William Robinson was consulted on modernising some of the planting. The Hall was used as a convalescent home during the First World War and the Old Hall as a brigade HQ during the Second World War. In 1965 a health clinic was established in the Hall by the sixth Baron and on his death the estate passed to the seventh Baron. The site has since been sold and remains (2021) in private ownership.

The gates to the north-west of the Hall first appear on the Ordnance Survey map of 1883 but they may date to the mid-C19 phase of garden works. The map shows that a path from the third landing of The Grand Descent led directly to the gates which are located at the edge of the pleasure grounds and open onto the parkland.

Details

Ornamental gates and gate piers probably dating to the third quarter of the C19.

MATERIALS: gault brick laid in stretcher bond and wrought iron, painted green.

PLAN: the gates are located at the edge of the pleasure grounds to the north of The Grand Descent.

EXTERIOR: the highly decorative gates have an overthrow incorporating the wheatsheaf and wings of the Middleton family’s coat of arms, and ribbon end and rolled nib scrolls with well placed waterleaves. The top section is in two parts. The upper part has verticals with foliate decoration at the top and bottom, and across the middle a row of circles with Tudor roses at the intersections. In the lower part, the uprights have a distinctive diagonal slant with ribbon end and rolled nib scrolls, and twisted arrowheads. The lock rail consists of a row of horizontal ovals with Tudor roses at the intersections. The lower section contains the same diagonal uprights as already described. The dograil below has short uprights, alternating with banded decoration and scrolls.

The tall, square, panelled gate piers are surmounted by two-stepped caps and elongated, flat-topped pyramidal finials, finished in cement render. On either side, the railings have a dograil and twisted arrowheads to the uprights, and extend for approximately 2m. They are ramped up to the main gate piers and terminate in shorter, square piers finished in cement render. The pier on the east side is surmounted by a large ball finial but the finial on the west side has been lost.

Sources

Books and journals
Bettley, J, Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Suffolk: East, (2015)
Williamson, Tom, Suffolk’s Gardens and Parks: Designed Landscapes from the Tudors to the Victorians, (2000)

Other
Country Life, 10 (2 November 1901), p560; 114 (24 September 1953), p948; (19 November 1953), p1654; (26 November 1953), p1734
Tom Williamson, The Landscape of Shrubland Park. A Short History (1997)

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