A grass amphitheatre, the first of its kind in northern England, will be unveiled in summer, as part of work to a walled garden in one of the region’s most impressive medieval castles.

Redesign work at Raby Castle, in County Durham, including the ambitious development programme known as ‘The Rising’ is now nearing completion.

The garden has carefully been remodelled by Lady Barnard and world-renowned garden designer Luciano Giubbilei, allowing visitors to gaze up at the spectacular sight of the 14th century castle on the horizon.

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The Northern Echo: Lady Barnard and garden designer Luciano GiubbileiLady Barnard and garden designer Luciano Giubbilei (Image: Contributor)

Lady Barnard said: “At the outset of this project, we had in mind something

extraordinary, which would showcase both the formality and natural beauty embedded in this historic landscape.

“We wanted to bring something unique to Raby and with the addition of the amphitheatre, as a gathering space amongst the colourful planting, we hope that in time, the walled garden will be a beautiful place for the local community and visitors to enjoy all year round.”

The unique space will be used for a host of summer activities, including plays and musical events, as well as providing visitors with a beautiful garden for quiet contemplation.

Work began last year and sees evergreen-bordered herbaceous beds at the north of the garden, set amongst interconnected paths, leading visitors to the natural amphitheatre.

The sculptural yew hedge, which has sat at the heart of the historic walled garden since the 19th century, was the main consideration during the design process, with great sensitivity shown to its importance in the landscape.

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Luciano said: “The sense of past played such an important part in our design decisions when we embarked on this journey.

“There is so much history that came before us at Raby, and we needed to decide how to move forward with a design that embodied the atmosphere, enabling visitors to seamlessly move from space to space, but at all times, honouring the iconic shadow of Raby Castle in the background.”

Over the last year, the work within the East Garden includes the creation of the tiered amphitheatre, the planting of borders and the construction and establishing of beds.

Evergreens and topiary have been introduced to reflect the balance of formality and informality within the structure of the garden, with Taxus hedging and Osmanthus cloud-pruned plants installed across the east garden to create flow and mirror the form of the historical yew hedge.

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The Northern Echo: The grounds of Raby Castle are being redeveloped The grounds of Raby Castle are being redeveloped (Image: The grounds of Raby Castle are being redeveloped)

Tim Marshall, Raby’s head gardener said: “Taxus domes have been planted to delineate the edges of the amphitheatre steps.

“But it will be the flood of soft muted colours in the herbaceous beds and the dense, structural green of the yew hedges that will draw the eye.”

Local contractor Trevor Atkinson is preparing the foundations for the central rill in the formal garden, which will create a succinct and flowing line of water from the top of the garden to the South Walk gates, drawing visitors’ eyes onward and up towards the castle.

Over the next six months, planting and hard landscaping will continue with the opening of the completed walled garden to the public planned for next year.