Knowle relocation project: and its Arcadian garden

A building has context:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: "How buildings sit in their landscape"

Not only do the Knowle gardens act as part of "the green network through the town and across the valley which is most vital and attractive."
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: green corridor

To quote a correspondent:

"Last night there was an interesting BBC4 doc “In Search of Arcadia” along the Thames between Chiswick and Twickenham.  Next door to the poet Alexandria Pope’s garden is a Palladium villa called Marble Hall which is raised above a picturesque landscape. The Arcadian garden is special because of the stepped terraced lawns which provide a special perspective of the view down to the river": 

Dr Janina Ramirez goes 'In Search of Arcadia' discovering the origins of the English landscape movement in a 12-mile stretch of the Thames between Hampton and Chiswick with waterman and historian John Bailey. She explains the ancient concept of Arcadia - a lost paradise where man and nature lived in perfect harmony.

BBC Four - In Search of Arcadia

"Such terraces are an integral part of the garden’s splendour in a similar way to that of the Knowle which with its ruins seeks to establish an Arcadian landscape by borrowing the verdant view through the valley down to the sea. Building over the terraces will of course destroy this historic Arcadian vista.

"Regarding the Knowle, the terraces are a unique landscape and heritage asset.

"This distinctive piece of garden design enhances the visitors experience from both below and above.

"Due to its commanding position on the raised podium, which when seen from the garden approach below, the terraces elevate the grandeur of the building’s façade.

"From above this provides the advantage of a clear distant vista and due to a trick perspective, the eye perceives a more expansive area of lawn space below it  than otherwise would be the case of a slope without the terraces.

"It is this rare historic terrace feature combined with the listed stone ruin which makes this Arcadian landscape so important to retain."

See also:

Knowle Watch | Save Our Sidmouth

Exploding some myths re. Knowle relocation. | Save Our Sidmouth
Introduction | PegasusLife
Perspectives of Knowle, before and after Pegasus Life proposals. | Save Our Sidmouth
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