Castletown Manor Walled Garden

I recently visited the former walled garden at Castletown Cross, Pallaskenry (now the property of the Holland family) and was amazed at how well-preserved the surrounding walls are. These walls, most of them built of brick, are 10 feet high, and enclose an area of 3.5 acres. This area formerly comprised the walled vegetable/ fruit garden of the Waller family in Castletown Manor.

The Waller Family

Most of my readers will be familiar with at least some of the history of the Waller family. In my book, Adare and the Barony of Kenry Biographical Dictionary (Iverus, 2010), I have given detailed accounts of several prominent members of the Waller clan. Sir Hardress Waller, founder of the Castletown branch, was a prominent supporter of Oliver Cromwell and became infamous for being one of the judges who condemned King Charles I (1600-1649) to death. He had a distinguished military career with Cromwell’s army in Ireland and was an MP and Governor of the Castle in Askeaton. He and his wife, Elizabeth Dowdall, obtained a large estate in the Castletown area and extending towards Adare. Though Sir Hardress lost his lands at the Restoration of King Charles II, his wife managed to hold on to her estates, and as late as 1872, the Wallers still had  6,636 acres in Co. Limerick. Though Sir Hardress was condemned to death at the Restoration, this sentence was commuted to life imprisonment at Mount Orgeuil Castle in Jersey, where he died in 1666.

The descendant of Sr Hardress who seems to have built the walled garden in Castletown was either Bolton Waller (1769-1824) or his son, Rev William Waller (1794-1863).

Victorian Walled Gardens

Walled kitchen gardens achieved their greatest popularity during the reign of Queen Victoria (1819-1901). Some famous walled gardens can still be seen at: a) Lissadell House, Co. Sligo b) Kylemore Abbey, Co. Galway (6 acres); Johnstown Castle Co. Wexford; Powerscourt Castle, Co. Wicklow, and the Phoenix Park, Dublin. Queen Victoria herself had a large walled garden of 32 acres. These gardens were usually surrounded by high walls. Those in Queen Victoria’s garden were 9 feet high, while the walls in other gardens rose to 12, even 24 feet. The purpose of the high walls was to ensure the safety of valuable fruit and vegetables

Most of the high walls surrounding gardens and estates in Ireland were built in the famine and post-famine era, when the employment of local craftsmen and labour was regarded as a benevolent act. The Hunt estate in Incherourke, Askeaton, has an area of more than one square mile (640 acres) and the entire estate was bounded on the eastern and northern sides by an expertly-built dry wall, much of which can still seen today.

Glass Houses

In 1845, the tax on glass was removed in Great Britain and Ireland and this led to cheaper glass and its more widespread use in glass houses in the gardens of the gentry. Plate glass was invented in1848. Many of the gardening tools invented in the1880s are still in use: spades, rakes, pruning shears. The Sutton's Seeds was founded in Reading, England, in 1806 and this firm sent cheap packets of seeds all over the world, including Ireland. In each walled garden there was a Head gardener and assistants, who served their ‘time’ as apprentices and gradually mastered the secrets of good gardening.

The popular vegetables cultivated included potatoes; cabbage; carrots, parsnips; white turnip; asparagus; artichokes; onions. The high walls were used to provide reflected heat, less so light, for fruit trees. The north wall, which got little sunshine was the domain of gooseberries, red and black currants and cherries. Around the eastern wall were planted apples and pears. The western wall was reserved for figs and plums, while the warmer southern wall was reserved for tomatoes, peaches, apricots, plums, and nectarines. Popular varieties of apple grown at the time included Beauty of Bath; Gladstone; Lady Sudeley (all early varieties), while the later varieties included Cox Orange Pippin and Charles Ross.

         Though the primary purpose of walled gardens was the production of fruit and vegetables, the excess of which was sold, flowers were also grown, including varieties that required, at least for some time, the heat and shelter of the glass house.

         The remains of the walled garden are still a little marvel to behold. Of special interest are the 10 feet high brick walls, several hundred yards of which are still in perfect condition. Moreover, the wall still has the flat slate covering, originally used to prevent ingress of water into the wall and still performing that service efficiently after 160 years.