Riccarton Estate Garden
by Yvonne Johnstone
Title
Riccarton Estate Garden
Artist
Yvonne Johnstone
Medium
Photograph - Digitally Enhanced Photograph
Description
Riccarton Estate Garden -
The earliest recorded reference to Riccarton or Richardstoun is from 1315 when King Robert the Bruce bestowed the land as a dowry on his daughter Marjory.
The Lawn today is a remnant of the 18th century pleasure gardens of Riccarton
House.
It was used for croquet and echoed to the cries of the peacocks that once strutted the grounds.
The sundial was removed in 1956 when the house was demolished but the original plinth remains on the lawn.
The woodland surrounding the Lawn still contains several specimen trees from the collection and some of the exotic species are dated between 100 and 150 years old.
The oldest trees on the estate are the native or naturalised hardwoods of beech, ash, sycamore and particularly the Riccarton Sweet Chestnut (also known as the Spanish Chestnut) which is several centuries old and can be found at the southern edge of the Lawn.
Heriot Watt University acquired the estate in 1969.
Uploaded
September 26th, 2021
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