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Description

Gardens of 1.6ha surrounding C16 building. Marston Hall late C16, with C17 and C18 alterations and reductions. Gardens in three areas, to south-west, south and south-east of Hall. To the front of the Hall, i.e. on the south-western side, a gravelled entrance with gate piers to the north. Open lawn with ornamental trees and shrubs to the south-west, with several outstanding aged trees on western boundary by the churchyard wall of St Mary's Church - a wych elm, thought to be 400 years old, a laburnum and two walnuts. To the south, a formal rose garden enclosed by walls and yew hedges; to the south-east (i.e. to rear of Hall) the kitchen garden. This is quartered by paths with herbaceous borders on each side. In the south-eastern corner, a gazebo, C18, with gothic facade designed 1962 by John Partridge, and with murals inside by Barbara Jones. Owned by the Thorold family since the C14. ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES The entrance is from School Lane, 50m south of the Hall, along a short drive to the south-west front of the Hall. The line of School Lane is shown on the 1618 estate map and a track is shown running north to the gatehouse which lay to the west of the main Hall. There is no evidence at that time of a drive approaching the gatehouse directly from the west. PRINCIPAL BUILDING Marston Hall (listed grade II*), of two storeys and an attic and eight bays, is built of limestone ashlar with a plain tile and pantile roof. It was built between 1480 and 1550, possibly for John Thorold (Leach 1990). Wings were added to the Great Hall for Sir Anthony Thorold c 1577 (CL 1965) and these and a gatehouse closing the forecourt to the west are shown on the estate map of 1618. The wings and gatehouse were demolished in the 1720s (Leach 1990). Late C20 alterations are by Francis Johnston. Abutting the north-west of the Hall are the stables, built of ashlar with a plain tile roof topped by a cupola clock tower; these are now (2000) a private house extended in 1999. To the east of the Hall are various outbuildings. GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS The gardens lie south-west, south and south-east of the Hall. The south-west garden is planted informally with trees and shrubs to a mid C20 design by John Codrington (Anthony 1979). The garden is walled and lies south-westwards from the gravel path running parallel to the south-west front of the Hall. Abutting the gravel path is the Front Lawn edged with conical clipped yews. Grass paths lead between herbaceous planting, the main path leading between yews to the south-west corner of the garden. From the south-west corner of the garden a path leads through the Laburnum Avenue with laburnums planted on a metal pergola leading to a flower-planted urn on a lawn in a clearing in the trees. A spur path leads from the south-west corner of the garden across to the north-west corner and then continues to an opening in the wall between the garden and the church. West of this opening is the ancient Great Laburnum (Anthony 1979). A line of yews have been planted along the boundary of the garden and the graveyard of the church. The path from the opening in the wall known as Church Walk leads south-eastwards towards the Hall. A concrete-paved path leads from the gravelled front drive around to the south front of the Hall. Trained against the south front are pears; these are probably late C19 plantings (Anthony 1979; guide leaflet). Climbing above the pears is a Banksia rose. A gravel path runs from west to east and terminates in an ornamental wrought-iron gate flanked by brick gate piers topped with ashlar finials. A cross path runs north/ south from the Hall. At the junction of the two paths is a small brick-edged pond. The south garden and the south-east garden both lie south of the west to east gravel path. The south garden is a rose garden. Enclosed in beech and yew hedges, it is laid out with rectangular rose beds set in a lawn around a sundial with conical clipped yews set in each corner. The southern rubble-stone wall is broken by an ironwork gate leading into the paddock which lies south of the garden (outside the site here registered). To the east of the rose garden, south-east of the Hall, is a flower garden quartered by broad grass paths and flowers planted in each quarter. White-painted wooden obelisks stand in the inside corner of each quarter adjacent to the cross paths. At the eastern corner of the garden is a head of Bacchus, designed by the sculptor Peter Ball in 1988, set on a heavy wooden plinth. A grass path leads eastwards from the flower garden to the south-east corner of the site. The path continues northwards between high quickthorn hedges to a castellated gazebo, probably of C19 date, which stands south-east of the Hall. It was restored and given a gothic facade by John Partridge in 1962 (guide leaflet). Inside the gazebo is a mural by Barbara Jones of 1962 (Thorold 1999). The wooden exterior wings were added by Carl Balham in the 1990s. To the north-west of the Hall, immediately north-west of the stables, a short flight of steps lead to a grass path which continues as an avenue of Lombardy poplars. These trees were presented to the Rev Henry Thorold by former colleagues and pupils of Lancing (Thorold 1999). The poplars extend into the fields and meadows which lie between the grounds and the River Witham (outside the site here registered). East of the steps a grass path curves around the north-east of the buildings, passing a late C20 birdhouse. North of the path is an orchard. KITCHEN GARDEN An area planted out with vegetables lies immediately south-east of the Hall, north of the flower garden. A greenhouse stands to the north abutting an outbuilding wall. Country Life, 9 Sept 1965, 612; 16 Sept 1965, 692. Anthony J, Gardens of Britain, 6, 1979. Pevsner N and Harris J, Lincolnshire, 1964. Description written: September 2000 Amended: August 2002 Registered Inspector: CEB Edited: September 2002

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