Boston Flora

Tag: Studley Royal Water Garden

  • Thursday, June 1, 2:00 pm Eastern (Live), & Friday, June 2 – Friday, June 16 (Recorded) – Saving Fountains Abbey: Project Update, Online

    In 2020, Royal Oak donated $250,000 to preserve one of England’s most magnificent sites which was one of the first places in the UK to become a World Heritage Site in 1986.

    Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Water Garden is an awe-inspiring landscape, owned by the National Trust since 1983. Cistercian monks established the Abbey in 1132, manipulating the River Skell to harness its power for grinding grain into flour. Over time, the Abbey became one of the largest, richest, and most influential Cistercian sites in Britain until the Dissolution in the 1530s by Henry VIII.

    In the early 18th century, John Aislabie began transforming his nearby landscape garden of Studley Royal into a picturesque design that incorporated the entire wooded valley, and featured a huge water garden with lakes, grottos, canals, and cascades. Paths were created with viewpoints that centered on classical statues and follies.

    In 1767, his son William bought the neighboring Abbey ruins to incorporate them into the landscape and to create the ultimate vista or ‘Surprise View.’ Centuries later, the garden design is much the same, but this important landscape is often flooded from the River Skell. To save the site, the National Trust has partnered with conservation organizations, local farmers, and landowners to implement a natural flood management program.

    Justin Scully, the General Manager, will update Royal Oak members on the on-going progress of these efforts, including the planting of woodland and hedgerows, the creation of ponds and meadows to slow the water flow. He will illustrate the changes and explain the challenges faced by the preservation team. Additionally, he will talk about the surviving relics of the Chinese Garden and the wider 18th century and monastic landscape, as well as exciting discoveries in the historic archives. Finally, Justin will update us on how Fountains has responded to the post Covid world. The webinar is free to Royal Oak Society members, $20 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.royal-oak.org/events/spring-2023-lectures-and-tours/fountains-abbey/

  • Wednesday, October 14, 6:00 pm – Saving Fountains Abbey, Online

    The dramatic abbey ruins at Fountains are the largest monastic ruins in Britain. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the buildings fell into ruin until the 18th century when the abbey became the heart of one of Britain’s grandest landscapes ever created, Studley Royal Water Garden. 


    The water garden at Studley Royal is one of the few great 18th-century gardens to have survived well in its original form. It was the creation of John Aislabie and later his son, William. They both had astounding vision for how they wanted this garden to look, working with the landscape rather than changing it. Their design ingeniously channels the winding waters of the River Skell past the abbey ruins and into moon shaped ponds and mirrored lakes, framed with formal bosquet hedges and laurel banks. 
    They pushed the boundaries of what was considered to be a garden and heavily influenced the typical “English” garden style. Experience this extraordinary place for yourself on October 14 at 6 pm live or later, online, with the Royal Oak Foundation. All proceeds from this event will be donated to Royal Oak’s 2020 Campaign in support of the National Trust: Saving Fountains Abbey. $35 to access recording – register HERE

    The evening will include:

    • Guided tours of this UNESCO World Heritage Site with Fountains staff and volunteers
    • A presentation and Q&A with General Manager, Justin Scully
    • Engaging panel discussions of the history and the challenges facing the property
    • Special Guest appearance from renowned British artist, Ed Kluz
    • Musical performance filmed at the Abbey exclusively for Royal Oak members 
    A view over the Half Moon Pond and weir of Studley Royal Water Garden towards Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire. Fountains Abbey, a Cistercian community of monks founded in the twelfth century, forms a picturesque backdrop to the water gardens created by John Aislabie and his son William in the eighteenth century.