NHER 65660 (Designed Landscape record) - Early 20th-century sunken garden, Carrow Abbey

December 2021. Listed, Grade II.
An Italianate sunken garden constructed in the grounds of Carrow Abbey (NHER 296) between 1907 and 1926.
The garden takes the form of an oval with cruciform paths meeting in the centre. It is reached by a set of steps on the eastern side, leading first upwards and then downwards to a long stone path. The centre of the garden features an octagonal plinth and planter, but the latter may not be original. Smaller sets of stepd are set in the north and south walls. The walls themselves are constructed of red brick with stone coping and are surmounted by ball finials at the returns.
The earliest evidence for a sunken garden in the grounds of Carrow Abbey (NHER 296) is a depiction of its outline on the 1907 Second Edition Ordnance Survey map. By 1926, the Ordnance Survey had included the paths, steps and terraces and by 1928 it was depicted as surrounded by trees. It may have been designed by Edward Boardman, who remodelled and extened Carrow Abbey for the Colman family between 1899 and 1909.
The listing includes the walls, steps, paving and terrace.
Information from Listing Description (S1).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current listing details.
H. Hamilton (HES), 19 May 2022.