Parcevall Hall
A diamond in the rough
18 July 2023
By: James Lennox
Gardens in the north of England tend to be somewhat overlooked by the horticultural movers and shakers. For a start they’re not within weekend striking distance of the capital, unlike the Cotswolds. And even when you’ve made it this far from civilisation (tongue firmly in cheek, you understand), the visit-worthy gardens are quite widely spaced.
Doing the double, visiting two gardens in one day, might work for near neighbours Hidcote and Kiftsgate (if verging on sensory overload) but you’d be hard pushed to combine two garden visits on the same day the further north you venture. Think whole day affair and enjoy the slower pace.
Nobody in the history of garden visiting has ever said of Parcevall Hall: “We were just passing so we thought we would pop in”. Reaching this garden unscathed along increasingly narrow lanes is probably what accounts for its relatively undiscovered status. The closer you get, either winding up the tight valley or dropping down off the wind-blasted moors, the more you suspect you’re on a wild goose chase. Surely there couldn’t be an actual garden in such a remote, wild location?
Have faith and you will be rewarded. Parcevall Hall is quite simply the most remarkable garden in the most unexpected spot - a testament to the vision of its creator, Sir William Milner, and its current custodian, the Diocese of Leeds which uses it as a retreat house.
Throughout the gardens, the level of horticultural skill is exceptionally high, all the more note-worthy as there are only three professional gardeners involved, only one of whom is employed full-time. GIven the constant battle against marauding mammals (post-pandemic resident deer and the ever-present rabbit population) and the exposed location, maintaining the garden to this standard is nothing short of miraculous.
Where the dominant theme of Gresgarth struck me as water, here the overwhelming feature within the garden is stone - buttressed terraces, walls, gateways and steps have all been used to tame the steep slope, although in places natural rock outcrops remind the visitor of what lies mostly hidden beneath the surface.
One particular outcrop in the entrance courtyard has been planted up as a Mediterranean-style herb garden; another forms the central feature of the Rock Garden on the hill behind the Hall. And how refreshing it is to see any kind of rock garden-planting on such a large scale - surely a feature long overdue a comeback in the fickle world of garden fashions. Add in a stream trickling down the rock slope into a pool and you could be high in the Alps, not high in the Dales.
All of which is in sharp contrast to the gardens falling down the slope below the Hall. There’s terracing and then there’s Yorkshire-style terracing - muscular, confident and unflinching. Almost one hundred years after their construction, they’re still managing to keep the Hall from sliding down the hill while providing some precious flat areas for herbaceous borders, a circular pool, a lily pond and lawns. Plants that should stand no chance of surviving here (Crinodendron hookerianum, Argyrocytisus battandieri, agapanthus) thrive against the sun-warmed terrace walls.
And those walls and terraces need to be assertive, or else they run the risk of being overwhelmed by the sheer bulk of the peak looming over them - Simon’s Seat, so close as to give the illusion of being within touching distance. From the terraces, the view to the south is of rugged open moors, sheep sheltering from the howling wind and, quite often, driving rain. Within the garden, though, thanks to the shelter-belt of trees on three sides, all is calm, peace reigns and man’s constant struggle against the elemental forces outside is, for the moment at least, decided in man’s favour.
Appropriately for a garden gifted by its creator to the Church, there are religious overtones, the terraces leading down to and including the Red Borders representing the Cross, a chapel approached through a contemplative space filled with Japanese maples, hostas and ferns, benches sited throughout the gardens in quiet spots, off the beaten track to allow visitors a moment of reflection perhaps on matters beyond the merely horticultural.
We can all learn lessons from gardens such as this. Be bold in the face of adversity, don’t shrink from a challenge, persevere to overcome setbacks - and don’t be tempted to blame the elements for all your garden’s shortcomings. Learn to adapt.
The overriding impression is of a peaceful space, a sanctuary, a refuge from the wider world. Full of interest, the garden still offers the visitor room to breathe, to take time to assess the achievements represented here, and to give thanks that such places are kept alive.
More information here: https://parcevallhallgardens.co.uk/
