The restoration of the Boughton designed landscape
 

For over two centuries the immense formal garden at Boughton in Northamptonshire has been virtually lost to view. Sixty years of intense creativity begun by Ralph,1st Duke of Montagu in the 1680’s came to a halt in 1749 with the death of his son John, the 2nd Duke. The great house and its estate passed twice in succession through the female line to families already well endowed with substantial properties of their own. Benign neglect became the norm as nature reclaimed the terraces, the waterways silted up and woodlands were adapted to sporting rather than landscape priorities.

Those early decades though made an indelible mark, years when Duke Ralph laid out the template of canals, lakes and avenues that remains dominant even now. Within that template which extended over nearly 100 acres he then created wonderful parterres replete with stone basins and statuary and fountains, neatly tended woodland with bosquet compartments, all reflecting the visual influence of years spent as ambassador to Louis XIV and then semi exile on the continent.

Of the historic importance of the garden as a remarkable example of late 17th / early 18th century design there has always been little doubt. It is listed Grade 1 and even the earliest of the Country Life articles on Boughton in 1909 talks wistfully of lost gardens and the hopes that they might one day be recovered.

Increasing use of the house by the Dukes of Buccleuch, descendants of the Montagu’s who first acquired the estate in 1528, took place throughout the last century. It was not however until the 1970’s that the first significant steps to restore the landscape were taken under the stewardship of the late 9th Duke. The Broad Water, the largest of the lakes, which lies to the west of the house, was dug out and the sluice restored. It was a huge effort and two decades were to pass before the next steps were taken with the commissioning of a ‘Historical Landscape Survey and Restoration Management Plan’ from the Colson Stone partnership in 1995.

Funding difficulties led to little if any progress in implementing the recommendations. Some piecemeal work was done at the start of the new millennium, notably the digging out of the Star Pond and renewal and repair of garden railings and gates, but this in itself served as a reminder of the complexity of the challenges ahead particularly when trying to manage the water features.

With that in view the Duke’s son (now the 10th Duke) sought fresh validation of the approach to be adopted and professional support through Patrick James and the Landscape Agency.

The new Management Plan drawn up in 2004 identified a ten year programme for restoring the main structure of the canal system, key water and earthworks features and the grand avenues. Much has been achieved since then with the digging out of the Dead, Little and Boat Reach canals and the Lily Pond and the removal of trees from the Mount at the heart of the gardens. To achieve that more than 12,000 cubic metres of silt has been dredged and more than 1,500 metres of oak boarding has been installed. Over a mile of lime avenues using home grown stock has been planted.

Much remains to be done. Further sections of canal, restoration of the Grand Etang lake to the north of the house and of the cascade at the Star Pond are but some of the projects in the work programme for the next five years. From the outset, however, the present Duke was determined to explore whether there was space and opportunity for some 21st century addition to the overall design, to reflect the best of thinking for today.

A debate at a landscape conference in Edinburgh and much subsequent discussion has resulted in the proposal now being advanced for approval.

A new project -‘Orpheus’, as we have come to call it, with its sure intellectual foundations seems to complement wonderfully the intelligent and visionary approach of the 1st and 2nd Dukes of Montagu. Though it is just one quite small element in the overall vision for restoration at Boughton with which it seems thoroughly in keeping, it has the potential to provide a frisson of surprise.

The creation of the landscape at Boughton was the work of decades and it is difficult to know whether the project of restoration project will ever truly be finished. It is the Duke’s hope however that when the 500th Anniversary of the Montagu’s at Boughton comes to be celebrated in 2028 there will be a landscape in which everyone can take pride and joy.

John Morton 'Natural History of Northamptonshire' (1712)

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