Hard Landscaping – Soft Landscaping
Originally built between 1135 and 1152, Bury Mount consisted of a small bailey and a tall motte castle, the castle’s demise was in 1644 when the town of Towcester was refortified and the decline of Bury Mount has continued until the start of this project. Working closely with English Heritage and South Northamptonshire Council restoration works have begun, aiming to provide a large, historic public open space away from the hustle and bustle of Towcester town centre.
The Mount will be re profiled with an additional 16,000m3 of soil to recreate and protect the Scheduled Ancient Monument, a sloping spiral path will provide the main access to the top of the Mount. The path will feature a stone timeline with key dates from Towcester’s history, the dates have been provided by the local History Society.
A new set of stone steps will be provided that will link the Mount with a new timber footbridge across to the new water meadow and green space, the water meadow will enhance the areas bio diversity and reflect the original moat.
The project involved a lot of careful planning and co ordination but it was completed on time and within budget and to the high standards set by the client and English Heritage.
At the base of the Mount new stone seating on a radius following the curvature of the land will be installed alongside grassed areas for picnicking and recreation. All of the stone for the seating and new steps is being sourced from local quarries to reflect the stone that would have been used on the original construction.
The project started on site in June 2009 and progressed following extensive consultation and continued involvement with archaeological, ecological, engineering and landscape design advice and was developed with the approval and under the watchful eye of English Heritage. The first phase of the scheme was completed in December 2009, and cost in the region of £750,000.
With so many interested parties the project involved a lot of careful planning and co ordination but it was completed on time and within budget and to the high standards set by the client and English Heritage.
