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A walk around Calke Abbey

Clips 11 & 12 - The old kitchen gardens and The garden as an 18th century status symbol

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Glass house

When the gardens were first created in the 1770s their role was not simply to enable food production for the family. They were also a status symbol for the family, an opportunity to demonstrate one’s wealth and importance in the area.
Until the late 1930s this area of about 4 acres used to be the kitchen garden. It became surplus to requirements after WW2, and was grassed over in the 1970s. The scene illustrates how the Harpur Crewe family and their requirements for large scale food production gradually diminished.

The old kitchen gardens....

The garden as an 18thC status symbol....

The old kitchen garden

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