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Monument details

HER Number:TQ 55 SE 41
Type of record:Landscape
Name:The Japanese Garden, Bitchet Wood

Summary

A Japanese style garden at Bitchet Wood created by Raymond Berrow for Hugh Micklem between 1919 and 1921. The garden is based on a design published in Joseph Condor's Landscape Gardening in Japan which was published in 1893. It is rectangular in plan enclosed by hedges and screened by trees and shrubs. Features include a lake with a rocky casacde, island and bridges.


Grid Reference:TQ 5568 1542
Map Sheet:TQ51NE
Parish:SEAL, SEVENOAKS, KENT

Monument Types

  • BRIDGE (BRIDGE, Modern - 1919 AD to 2050 AD)
  • CASCADE (CASCADE, Modern - 1919 AD to 2050 AD)
  • FORMAL GARDEN (FORMAL GARDEN, Modern - 1919 AD to 2050 AD)
  • ORNAMENTAL POND (ORNAMENTAL POND, Modern - 1919 AD to 2050 AD)
  • WELL (WELL, Modern - 1919 AD to 2050 AD)
Protected Status:Historic Park or Garden 153: Japanese Garden, Bitchet Wood; Registered Park or Garden (II*) 1000936: THE JAPANESE GARDEN, BITCHET WOOD

Full description

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Location uncertain, but sited to [Name TQ 56865426]Bitchett Wood[NAT] (1) Early C20 garden in Japanese style, 1/4ha. Designed for Hugh Micklem, probably by Raymond Berrow, the garden was laid out in 1919-21. The site is enclosed by hedges, and well screened by belts of shrubs or trees.[Full topographical description]LISTED GRADE II*. (2)

DESCRIPTION
An early 20th-century garden designed by Raymond Berrow in the Japanese style, based on a design published in Joseph Condor's Landscape Gardening in Japan (1893).

The Japanese Garden at Bitchet Wood lies just to the east of Sevenoaks in the small village of Bitchet Green. The roughly 0.25 hectare site is enclosed on all sides by high hedges which divide it from the surrounding gardens. As part of the design, the site, which naturally slopes slightly from south to north, was given additional contours by the creation of five 'hills'. There is one distant view out of the garden from the southern hills, looking northwards to a sandy cliff about 2 kilometres away.

HISTORY
The Japanese Garden at Bitchet Wood was laid out between 1919 and 1921 by the architect Raymond Berrow for Hugh Micklem, as a self-contained garden without reference to a house. The site remains (2002) in single private ownership.

People associated with this site
Designer: Raymond Berrow

Features
earthwork
The site was given additional contours by the creation of five 'hills'.
hedge
The site is enclosed on all sides by high hedges.
(3)


From the National Heritage List for England:
An early C20 garden designed by Raymond Berrow in the Japanese style, based on a design published in Joseph Condor's Landscape Gardening in Japan (1893).

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

The Japanese Garden at Bitchet Wood was laid out between 1919 and 1921 by the architect Raymond Berrow for Hugh Micklem, as a self-contained garden without reference to a house. The site remains (2002) in single private ownership.

DESCRIPTION

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING The Japanese Garden at Bitchet Wood lies just to the east of Sevenoaks in the small village of Bitchet Green. The c 0.25ha site is enclosed on all sides by high hedges which divide it from the surrounding gardens. As part of the design, the site, which naturally slopes slightly from south to north, was given additional contours by the creation of five 'hills'. There is one distant view out of the garden from the southern hills, looking northwards to a sandy cliff c 2km away.

ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES The garden is entered through a gateway in the north-east corner, reached from a track leading off the village street beyond the eastern boundary.

GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS The garden is rectangular and enclosed by hedges with a screen belt of trees and shrubs on all sides. Five grassy 'hills', four to the south and one to the north-east, achieve considerable variation in level. It is from the 'Distant Mountain' hill that the view out of the garden to the north is seen. A lake extends irregularly from south to north and includes a rocky cascade and an island. It is crossed by three bridges and has an intricate outline around the hills, giving interest and variety to the winding paths through the garden. These paths often incorporate stepping stones set in sand. Throughout the garden there are many features including a tea house to the north-west which overlooks the lake, and a Garden Well close to the gateway on the north-east boundary. To the west of the lake stands an Umbrella arbour and there are several important stones, for example the Guardian Stone and Kwannon Stone. Notable trees include a yew known as the 'View Perfecting Tree' on the island, and several fine mature acers. Berrow's plan for the garden indicates the positions of many more stones and prescribed trees.

The layout and features of the garden were designed by Raymond Berrow for Hugh Micklem in 1919 and are modelled closely on those indicated for a 'Hill Garden - finished style' in Joseph Condor's Landscape Gardening in Japan, published originally in 1893. The garden at Bitchet Wood contains slight variations on Condor's recommendations, necessitated by the nature of the site, and contains one major addition in the form of an area of bog garden with iris and waterside plants, located to the west of the lake and crossed by the 'Yatsu-hashi' bridge of zig-zag planks.


Kent County Council, 1996, The historic parks and gardens of Kent (Kent Gardens Compendium) (Unpublished document). SKE12972.

<1> OS 1:2500 1966 (OS Card Reference). SKE48208.

<2> English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest,Part 24 Kent(May 1987) (OS Card Reference). SKE41622.

<3> Parks and Gardens Data Services Limited (PGDS), 2005, Parks and Gardens UK (www.parksandgardens.org) (Website). SKE16061.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
---XYUnpublished document: Kent County Council. 1996. The historic parks and gardens of Kent (Kent Gardens Compendium). [Mapped feature: #2003 Garden, ]
<1>OS Card Reference: OS 1:2500 1966.
<2>OS Card Reference: English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest,Part 24 Kent(May 1987).
<3>Website: Parks and Gardens Data Services Limited (PGDS). 2005. Parks and Gardens UK (www.parksandgardens.org).

Related records

TQ 55 SE 168Parent of: Tea House in the Japanese Garden, Bitchet Green. (Listed Building)