History of the Wild Garden

The Wild Garden in its present form, was laid out in the mid 19th century as a pleasure garden adjoining Shipton Court, although the site was used as a recreation garden dating back to the building of Shipton Court in Elizabethan times. A tithe map of 1837 shows some of the existing ponds and paths, as well as the original dog kennels in the south west corner which gives Dog Kennel Lane its name, the path network is also clearly shown on the 1921 ordnance survey map of the area.

The garden is approached by an avenue of approximately fifty mature lime trees leading into a pathed and wooded area. It includes two shallow ornamental ponds feeding a cascade into a further three canal ponds. A central feature of the garden is a Cedar of Lebanon dating back to the original planting.