Yorkshire garden sewn from family's passion granted Historic England protection

Now Leeds’ York Gate Garden, measuring a single acre in size, has been granted heritage protection by Historic England in moves to celebrate the post-war years.

Honouring significant spaces and landscape design, the body has worked with The Gardens Trust to add 20 settings to the Register of Parks and Gardens.

From memorials to the grounds of private homes, the recognition doubles the number of registered post-war designed landscapes on the National Heritage List nationwide.

“These past few months have taught us that our green open spaces improve the quality of the environment around us, are good for our wellbeing and give us breathing space,” said Charles Smith, acting regional director for Historic England.

“This project shines a light on some amazing landscapes - like York Gate Garden - that exist all over the country, celebrating how they enhance our lives, and helping to protect them for generations to come.”

When gifted amateur designers Sybil and Frederick Spencer bought York Gate in Adel in 1951, it was no more than a house surrounded by farmland.

With son Robin, it was transformed into an influential garden opened to the public as gardening became more popular to fill post-war leisure time for the middle classes.

Influenced by the arts and crafts gardens which sprung into being following industrial revolution, especially Hidcote in Gloucestershire, the design sees 14 interconnecting spaces, defined and enclosed by hedges, drystone walls and trees.

Each is themed, and there is a pinetum, nut walk, paved gardens, and white and silver spaces, alongside the herb gardens, summerhouse and a 40ft raised canal.

After the loss of her husband and son, Mrs Spencer had nurtured the gardens until her death in 1994, when York Gate was bequeathed to charity Perennial.

Head gardener Ben Preston said to see it secure protected status was an honour to the family’s legacy and would have meant so much.

“It is an amazing garden, and it should be protected,” he said. “It’s not a stately home, it’s a family home.

“It would have meant a lot to Sybil, to see the family name and legacy live on.”

'A magical place'

Over recent months the garden has seen a rise in younger generations and families taking time to explore its secrets, he added.

“We are a nation of gardeners, and I think people have really started to reconnect with it,” he said. “It’s on the ancient Roman road to York, and there is such a deep history here.

“I completely fell in love with it on my first visit over a decade ago,” he added. “It should be shared - it’s a magical place.”

Other post-war gardens across England to have been added to the long-awaited National Heritage List register are Campbell Park, connecting the grid-planned ‘new town’ of Milton Keynes, and the ‘striking’ landscape surrounding the Cummins Engine Factory in Darlington.

Dominic Cole, president of The Gardens Trust, said the results of the project enhances its aims to protect, promote and appreciate gardens, parks and landscapes from all periods.

“Inclusion on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England is vital to our ability to help such landscapes survive to delight future generations,” he said.

“Twentieth-century heritage landscapes have often been overlooked and undervalued so we hope that these additions to the register will throw a spotlight on the importance and quality of post-war designed landscapes.”

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James Mitchinson