Beth Chatto’s garden and York Gate among post-war landscapes added to National Heritage List

Twenty new parks, gardens and landscapes have been added to the Register of Parks and Gardens, part of the National Heritage List for England today.

The list features gardens including Beth Chatto’s environmentally-sustainable garden in Essex, the John F Kennedy memorial landscape in Surrey, the ground of Brunel housing estate in London and York Gate Garden in Leeds.

The list has been three years in the making and is the result of a collaboration between The Gardens Trust and Historic England. The landscapes chosen were designed between the end of WWII and the early 1990s.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England said: “Many [of the landscapes] demonstrate incredible thought and care for the people who would go on to use them, and others mark significant turning points in the history of English gardening. These past few months have taught us that our green open spaces improve the quality of the environment around us, are good for our wellbeing and give us breathing space. ”

Dominic Cole, president of The Gardens Trust said that the list has effectively doubled the number of registered post-war designed landscapes. He added: “Twentieth-century heritage landscapes have often been overlooked and undervalued so we hope that these additions to the Register will throw a spotlight on the importance and quality of post-war designed landscapes.”

The categories in which the places have been added are gardens (public and private), memorial, housing estates, urban gardens and parks, institutional, industrial, commercial.

Beth Chatto Gardens in Colchester has become Grade II listed alongside Denmans Garden in Fontwell, Shute House in Dorset. The full list can be seen here.