Hill Close Gardens lie behind the houses of Linen Street in Warwick. They are a rare survival of something which was very common in the last century: a group of hedged gardens, just
outside the built-up area. They were used and enjoyed by the shopkeepers and professional people who lived over their businesses in the town centre and so had little garden around their homes.
The gardens' hedges gave privacy and shelter, and many of them had a summer house at the higher end from which there was a view out over the Common. The owners would come here after business or on Sundays to
relax, enjoy their lawns and flower beds, make tea or a meal on the fire or gas stove, and cultivate their fruit and vegetables. Most such groups of gardens were swept away by later development;
Hill Close Gardens themselves were acquired by Warwick District Council with the intention of building on them. However, their historical importance was recognised just in time, four of the pretty summer
houses are now listed buildings, and the gardens have been registered as of exceptional national importance. |
