Measured Survey
Date 14 June 2016 - 8 September 2016
Event ID 1022429
Category Recording
Type Measured Survey
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1022429
NJ 95980 30743 A historic garden survey was undertaken, 14 June – 8 September 2016, at Ellon Castle Gardens as part of an assessment of the gardens before their restoration by the Ellon Castle Gardens Trust. The gardens, which are a scheduled monument, are situated on a series of three natural terraces above the River Ythan and comprise a lower walled garden, with an upper terrace dominated by the ruins of the old castle, originally built in the 15th century but considerably enlarged in the 18th century, and an area of woodland on a higher terrace.
A detailed survey and photographic recording of all existing and visible elements of the garden was undertaken, with standing building surveys of all structures. Documentary sources, including photographs and paintings of the garden in the 19th century, were incorporated with the survey evidence to allow some understanding of the development of the garden. In addition, a geophysical survey was carried out by Rose Geophysical Consultants; the resistance survey, at 0.5m intervals, covered the walled garden, the upper terrace and a short section of the drive adjacent to the ruins of the old castle. It detected a number of anomalies which may indicate remnants of paths predating the existing 19th-century path layout; it is hoped in the future to examine these anomalies with a series of small test pits.
There is little evidence of the garden before the 18th century but it is probable that there were courts along the middle terrace beside the original castle. Two sundials, considered to be of late 17th-century date, are likely to belong to this period. Between 1706 and 1752, the property was owned by a Baillie James Gordon of Edinburgh and a datestone of 1715 over a doorway into the walled garden has generally been understood to indicate that he created the garden; certainly the stonework of the walls is identical to the stonework of some of the 18th-century additions to the castle. The walled garden had been cut into the terrace below the castle with a garden house which originally contained a stair down from the upper terrace. This 18th-century garden appears to have
been laid out at right angles to the old castle, with its central axis forming the view from the main rooms of the castle and from the garden house. At this time one of the earlier sundials was placed on this central axis, standing on a new 18th-century pillar. Surrounding it were the yews that are a main feature of the garden today.
In 1752 the property was bought by George Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aberdeen who made further developments to the castle between 1781 and 1787. Accounts for the building works at this period make no mention of any major works in the garden. The garden remained in the Gordon family
until 1918, being very neglected between 1801 and 1845, but redesigned between 1845 and 1873 when Alexander Gordon demolished the old castle, leaving only a romantic ruin that became a focal point in a new garden layout. The new castle, built further along the upper terrace, changed the approach to the garden, with a promenade along the upper terrace past elaborately bedded borders illustrated in both paintings and
photographs of the period. New steps were created to the lower walled garden, with a new layout, focusing on a central fountain among the yews. At this period a whole range of glass houses were constructed, and newspaper accounts of the Ellon Horticultural Society Shows give a fascinating insight into the range of plants being produced by the castle
gardeners. The 19th-century layout was preserved through the 20th century and is the basis of the existing garden.
Archive: NRHE. Report: Aberdeenshire SMR and NRHE
Funder: Ellon Castle Gardens Trust
Hilary and Charlie Murray – Murray Archaeological Services Ltd
(Source: DES)
