A LIFELINE has been thrown to a project to restore the only surviving 'Capability' Brown curved walled garden.

Specialist conservation work starts this week at Berrington Hall in Herefordshire, where the project had been at risk of being delayed due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, after the project received a a £269,000 from the Government's £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund.

The Georgian mansion sits within the last garden and landscape to be designed by the renowned 18th century landscape architect, ‘Capability’ Brown.

For over a century, the Grade 2 listed curved walled garden has been used to house livestock, and is now in need of significant restoration to return it to its original glory.

The first stage of the project was to remove the agricultural buildings which were causing damage to the wall. Now specialist work to preserve the original eighteenth century bricks and return the space to a garden will begin, expected to complete in March 2021.

Ana Vaughan, operations manager at Berrington Hall, said: “We are delighted to receive this funding from the Culture Recovery Fund. Together with money donated by our supporters, it means we can save 'Capability' Brown's final curved walled garden, which is the only one of its kind to survive the centuries intact. We’re at the beginning of the journey to reimagining ‘Capability’ Brown’s vision for visitors and future generations to enjoy.”