Designing the landscape
Saltram’s Castle has been a talking point on walks around the estate for over two centuries. Sitting on a high point of the ridge at the far end of the garden, it marks the point between the formal gardens and the wider parkland. It also signals a midpoint of sorts on the journey between Point (where there was a quay), and the house.
On his visit to Saltram in 1789, King George III took a stroll to the Castle and back, using it as an opportunity to quiz Henry Lee (Father of the then Clerk of the House of Commons and acting as the family’s agent for the visit) about Saltram’s history:
He continued talking to me to the Castle & back again – The beauty of the place – the different objects in view – Lady Catherine – her manner of getting the house built…”
Today the Castle continues to make many a walk at Saltram more pleasant. The views south across the parkland are largely unchanged from Henry’s time. The garden wall arrived in 1809 as part of an effort to keep uninvited visitors out of the estate!
Emma Philip
