THE

AISLABIE GARDENS TOUR

16th October 2010

Some notes on the history of these unique gardens and the people who made them. The Aislabie Gardens

In visiting the landscape gardens of Studley Royal and Hackfall, the modern-day visitor is very much following in the footsteps of 18th century travellers. With easier transport and greater affluence, visiting country houses and fashionable landscape gardens became ever more popular pastimes during that century. The houses and gardens were enjoyed not just by the owner, his friends and associates, but also by a far wider range of people from the upper and middle classes. Many early visitors recorded their impressions in words or sketches in their journals and diaries. The fame of the gardens of Studley Royal and Hackfall quickly spread, and as both sites were so accessible to travellers on the Great North Road and to visitors taking the waters at the nearby spas in Knaresborough and Harrogate, they became an indispensable part of the traveller’s itinerary.

Wealthy young men, family parties, artists, poets, or individuals whose business or leisure brought them to the vicinity all came to visit the famous gardens. Nicholas Dall made a drawing of Hackfall dated 1766 which Turner also painted. Views of Hackfall even found their way onto Catherine the Great’s famous Green Frog service designed by Josiah Wedgwood in 1773-4.

Fountain Pond Hackfall engraved by Dall (?), used on the ‘Green Frog’ dinner service

Other visitors left written accounts of their visits. Early guidebooks, such as Hargrove’s History of Knaresborough included comments such as “the pleasure grounds [of Studley Royal] have long been celebrated as the first in the north of England”. Speaking of Hackfall, Arthur Young commented in 1796 “nothing can exceed the taste, variety and beauty of this landscape”. In 1773, the visit of the Lord Mayor of London and two aldermen managed to attract the censure of the press. Having travelled up to Beverley to deal with matters concerning Emmanuel Hospital, they had extended their return journey in order to do a little sightseeing. They then claimed in their expenses the costs of hiring postchaises from to Studley and Hackfall and their entry fees – which led the Morning Chronicle and London

Created by HPG Study Group 28/03/2017 Page 2 Advertiser to comment bitterly that “the Pleasure of the Aldermen was purchased at the expense of the poor”.

Like the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, most visitors appear to have stayed in Ripon and to have made their way on horseback or in a carriage along narrow, unpaved lanes. For example Thomas Tennant, in 1773, mentions “a tedious ride through the fields and intricate lanes” before reaching “the celebrated Hackfall, one of the most picturesque scenes in the North of England”. Similarly, two decades later, John Byng writing in his Journal describes leaving Ripon by a “road stony and disagreable” to get to Grewelthorpe and the cottage of the gardener who served as guide to the visitors. But as he concluded his tour he felt well rewarded remarking:

There is so much to admire, so much to celebrate, that I know not how to proceed in description, or speak, half in praise due to Hackfall.

For some, such as the Reverend William Gilpin, the contrast between “the close lanes of the Rippon Road” and the sweeping panorama revealed at Mowbray Point provided an added surprise and cause for admiration.

The family, friends and guests of William Aislabie probably enjoyed a rather different, more private and exclusive experience as they travelled in a single journey from Studley to Hackfall through farmland and woodland taking in the delights of Laver Banks on the way. The whole journey could then appear as an escape from the world and a retreat into the charms of unadorned nature. There is, in fact, evidence to suggest that where William Aislabie did not own the land himself, he negotiated with his neighbours wayleaves for himself and his guests away from the public roads.

The Family behind the Landscape

As we tour these gardens today we are sharing the vision of three generations of the Aislabie family who, over the course of a century, landscaped the park at Studley Royal, created the Water Gardens and the woodland garden at Hackfall.

The Studley Royal estate, with the village of Studley Magna (since gone), was always quite separate from the estate. The first known Lord of the Manor was Richard de Aleman in 1180. From 1452 the owners were 10 generations of Mallorys, all but one called William or John, who created the Deer Park. In 1667 George Aislabie, who had married Mary Mallory, came on the scene.

George Aislabie (1618 – 1675). The story of George Aislabie is an intriguing one. It is not quite a tale of rags to riches, but it is certainly a study in “upward mobility”. He had a lowly job as clerk to the Principal Registrar to the Archbishop of York, William Turbutt, whose wife Elizabeth had land in the area in her own right. The Turbutts had accumulated sufficient capital to be able to lend money at interest, for example to Sir John Mallory of Studley Royal in 1638. They had no children and over time became attached to and very supportive of George, who was hardworking and canny. Elizabeth died in February 1662, leaving perhaps as much as £20,000 to George. The inheritance was the making of George Aislabie, gentleman. He wasted no time in leaping up the social ladder, getting a coat of arms in October 1663, buying the Treasurer’s House in York (which he is still said to haunt), and marrying Mary, the eldest daughter of Sir John Mallory of Studley Royal also in 1663.

The Restoration brought a period of peace after the horrors of civil war and brought French and Dutch fashions in landscaping to England: in particular, imposing avenues of trees were planted. When his wife inherited a third share of the Studley Estate, George Aislabie assumed control, and had the drive and money to improve it. The great avenue of limes is the dominant feature of the Deer Park and it is thought that this was planned and probably created by George. The long avenue is focused on Ripon Minster to give the impression that

Created by HPG Study Group 28/03/2017 Page 3 the estate grounds extend well beyond their actual boundary and to incorporate the Minster as a feature of the park. This use of an “eyecatcher” is a device frequently employed by landscape designers from the 17th century onwards.

John Aislabie (1670-1742). John was born on 4th December 1670 as the third son of George and Mary Aislabie, and like his older brothers attended Mr Tomlinson’s school in York before matriculating at Cambridge. There he read for a law degree at Trinity Hall in 1692, ideal preparation for the post of Registrar to the Archbishop of York which had been reserved for the next generation by his father. But with the death in 1693 of his playboy brother George, he unexpectedly at the age of 23 inherited the family estates at Studley and elsewhere, so starting a meteoric rise. He became MP for Ripon and in 1714 he was appointed Treasurer for the Navy. By 1718 he was Chancellor of the Exchequer and, as such, he became one of the key figures in the greatest financial scandal in our history, the South Sea Bubble. The Government was crippled by a high level of National Debt after the long series of wars with France. The was set up to trade in South America and the South Seas in the hope that it would become as successful as the East India Company. When it was realised that the company was not undertaking any significant trade, the bubble burst and thousands of investors were ruined. John Aislabie was expelled from Parliament and committed to the . All his property was confiscated but he was soon released and allowed to retain what he had owned in 1718, including the Studley estate. Being forced to retire from public affairs gave him the opportunity to give full rein to his interest in gardens.

A view of Fountains Abbey and Tent Hill from an engraving by Dall(?) (and borrowed from Walker’s ‘Surprise View’ 1758?), reproduced on the ‘Green Frog Dinner Service’ in 1766.

Studley Hall was in a notoriously dry part of the estate, so John turned his mind towards the more distant river valley of the Skell and recognised its wonderful potential for a water garden. Unfortunately a large part of the valley to the south and west and land to the east did not belong to him so he, and his son William after him, set about renting and buying the parts that he needed to complete his vision. By 1716, the Studley estate included the Skell valley up to Tent Hill. That same year, the Rev Stephen Wilks died and bequeathed John the option to purchase How Hill, which John took up. At Christmas of that year, a fire at Studley Hall caused considerable damage. During the next two years the Hall was repaired and the canal and the first (smaller) lake created. Between 1716 and 1730, the Half-Moon and the

Created by HPG Study Group 28/03/2017 Page 4 geometric ponds were created, along with drainage works. The cascade to the lake was installed, and the valley floor levelled. Tent Hill, which John was able to rent from the Messenger family, was landscaped after 1723. From 1728 when a new master mason, Robert Doe, was engaged, the stables, the Banqueting House, the Temple of Piety and the Temple of Fame were all completed. John’s purchases of adjacent land continued; in 1730 he acquired the Mackershaw estate from the Archbishop of York, the High Ride and other features. The following year John purchased for £906 the woodland at Hackfall, initially as an agricultural resource.

Finally, statuary was installed in the gardens which were divided, with the sensual garden to the west of the river, and the garden of responsibility to the east. Substantial numbers of trees were planted, including a large number of evergreens, and formal walks and vistas created with turf embankments for viewing.

William Aislabie (1700-1781). Little is known of William’s early education, and there is no record of his attending Oxford or Cambridge, the only English universities at the time. On 1st April 1721 William took his seat in the House of Commons, having been elected one of the two MPs for Ripon. He was to retain the seat for 60 years, a record which still stands. In June 1742 he inherited the Studley Royal estate on his father's death.

William continued his father’s work at Studley, developing the Seven Bridges Valley and turning the woods to the south of Studley Roger into a picturesque landscape.

Then, for 18 years from 1749 he spent his energy on Hackfall, his masterpiece. It seems that Fisher’s Hall was the first building to be erected, in 1749. Then in the 1750s, vistas were cut through trees on Limehouse Hill to create a view of Masham Church, the reservoir that feeds the Forty Foot Falls was constructed, and Kent’s Seat, the Fountain Pond and the Rustic Temple were built. Mowbray Castle was created in the 1760s followed by the commencement of work on Mowbray Point and the feeder ponds at the entrance from Grewelthorpe village. In 1768 William at last managed to buy Fountains Abbey and Fountains Hall from the Messenger family and thereby turned his attention to further developments at Studley. He created the High Ride with the Temple of Fame and, one of the high points of the garden, the Surprise View. The Abbey itself thus became a feature of the Water Gardens. His walks in the core area of the garden meandered along shaded routes that followed the shapes of the landscape and guided visitors to particular scenes and pictures.

Fortunately, a series of paintings commissioned by William from Balthazar Nebot has survived showing the estate as it was in the 1760s. It depicts the lake, the cascade, the balustrade, the canal and the Octagon Tower. The darkly reflecting surface of the lake and canals (“black water”) deliberately contrasts with the white limestone of the balustrade, now somewhat blackened by age, and with the roughened “white water” of the cascade and drum falls. This pattern was originally repeated below the lake with a cascade falling from the end of the lake into a pond surrounded by white limestone walls. This was formed by yet another dam with its cascade, now unfortunately washed away. The whole water garden could then be seen as a series of dams and cascades creating contrasting white and black water.

After William Aislabie’s death in 1781 the property passed to his married eldest daughter Elizabeth (Mrs Allanson), who did not live at Studley Royal. The property was maintained but escaped the effects of changing fashions in garden design. Mrs Allanson had no children, and on her death in 1808 the property passed to her niece Miss Elizabeth Lawrence who lived at Studley until her death in 1845.

The fact that these two ladies preserved rather than altered the garden is one of the main reasons why we are still able to enjoy the experience of walking around one of the finest examples of surviving eighteenth-century pleasure grounds.

Created by HPG Study Group 28/03/2017 Page 5 It is remarkable that in George, John and William we have three generations of landscape gardeners – it is hard to think of any parallels. After Miss Lawrence the property was owned by Earl de Grey (1845-59), the First Marquis of Ripon (1859-1909), the Second Marquis of Ripon (1909-1923) and the Vyner Family (1923-1966).

Since 1983 the Studley Royal Water Gardens have belonged to the National Trust and in 1986 were designated a World Heritage site. Since 1989 Hackfall has been owned by the Woodland Trust and is managed by the Hackfall Trust.

The recent restoration and engagement work at Hackfall has been made possible due to a grant of almost £1 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and further grants from the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , Yorventure and North Yorkshire Aggregates Grant Scheme.

A Francis Frith photograph of Fisher Hall, Hackfall c. late 19th century.

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