Completion of the “Great Court” at a medieval castle, Oxfordshire

Creation of a walled garden and Great Court.

The site is a significant but little-known complex in the west of Oxfordshire – a Victorian manor house built in the corner of a massive 13th century defensive curtain wall, abutting the original gatehouse and, on the other side, a later medieval dwelling with one of the first domestic fireplaces in England.  Arriving at the Castle, one sweeps through imposing stone gateposts into the “Great Court”, lined with fine stone open-fronted buildings and barns dating from the 18th century.

The owner’s wish is to complete this court, formed with Manifest’s designs for a new three-bay cartshed, together with the formation of a fine walled kitchen garden behind.  In this exceptionally significant historic context, the intention is to construct a relatively large new building such that it blends effortlessly with the patchwork of different ages and architectural styles.

A working kitchen garden has already been established here, a place of old world charm amid the flood plains of the River Thames.