The Archaeology of Kenilworth Castle's Elizabethan Garden: Excavation and Investigation 2004-2008

As part of the Property Development Programme for Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire, English Heritage created an ambitious reconstruction of the former Elizabethan garden on the north side of the castle keep. In order to achieve a reliable representation of the original garden, a team with a broad range of specialist knowledge was brought together to advise first upon the practicality of undertaking the project and then to assist in the delivery of its design. Related detailed studies have been assembled in an English Heritage monograph, The Elizabethan Garden at Kenilworth Castle, edited by Anna Keay and John Watkins (2013). An overview of the archaeological component of the project is contained within that monograph, but a full account of the archaeological investigations in the garden area could not be included due to space restrictions. The present report is therefore intended to provide the necessary detail relating to the Elizabethan garden, as well as medieval remains, later Civil War activity, and more recent land-use. A previous garden reconstruction had been attempted in 1975, and was based on a plan of the Kenilworth garden published in William Dugdale’s Antiquities of Warwickshire in 1656. The decision to undertake a further re-creation of the Elizabethan garden was partly based on evidence from archaeological evaluation carried out by Northamptonshire Archaeology, a service of Northamptonshire County Council (now MOLA Northampton) in autumn 2004, and from two seasons of more extensive work in 2005 and 2006. This period of works included open-area excavation and individual further trenches intended to elucidate specific aspects of the boundaries to the garden and southern terrace. Amongst other discoveries, the work uncovered for the first time the foundation of an octagonal fountain basin described by Robert Langham in a contemporary letter relating to Queen Elizabeth I’s visit in 1575. Its discovery showed that the 1975-garden reconstruction had little in common with the Elizabethan garden. The results of the excavation also clarified to some extent the original dimensions of the garden, the foundation level upon which the fine surfacing detail would have been applied, and contributed to understanding its geometry, including the identification of a series of rubble-filled pits which may relate to possible locations of structural elements. As the purpose of the excavation was to investigate the Elizabethan garden, only limited work was carried out on the preceding medieval use of the north court, and any associated remains were largely sealed below make-up layers intended to create a level surface for the garden. Two principal medieval features were examined: part of the north curtain wall and associated flanking towers; and the inner bailey ditch. The excavation also shed light upon the history of the site during the English Civil War as well as showing how the garden was subsequently cultivated and used up to the late twentieth century.