Tudor garden at listed Elizabethan mansion opens

Work on a new Tudor garden at a Grade I listed Elizabethan mansion has officially been completed.

The project at Shaw House, in Newbury, was led by West Berkshire Council's community services and funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

It has been designed by horticulturist and designer Andrea Fearon from Ivy Hill Garden Design.

The Tudor garden is now open to the public every weekend during the daytime, and will also open on week days during school holidays.

Nigel Foot, West Berkshire's culture, leisure, sport and countryside chief, said the project had been an "exciting initiative".

"We are delighted to see the garden completed now and for it to provide such an enhancement to the House," he said.

"We would like to give special thanks to our wonderful volunteers, who not only helped to bring the project to life with the meticulous planting, but who will also be helping to maintain the garden as part of our Community Garden sessions."

The plants are all true to a Tudor period garden and the style in which they have been planted "offers a contemporary interpretation", the council said.

Despite now being open to the public, people are being encouraged to revisit the garden in summer - when it will be in full bloom.

Shaw House was used as King Charles I's headquarters during the English Civil War, and now hosts weddings, conferences and events.

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