Image: Garden design incorporating a swimming pool, Moor Close, Binfield, Berkshire, 1911.
© RIBA Library Drawings and Archives Collections
The gardens at Moor Close are a hidden gem of the Arts & Crafts period. In 1911, millionaire Charles Birch Crisp asked the then unknown architect Oliver Hill to enlarge the existing house and create new gardens featuring curved staircases, pergolas and pavilions. Inspired by the Italianate water gardens of the 16th century, this sketch captures the garden’s elegance which includes a private swimming pool. Unfortunately the gardens fell into disrepair after Crisp ran into financial difficulties and the property was bought by Newbold College. Through renewed interest in Hill’s work, the house and gardens are now listed and are currently being restored.
Article by Fiona Orsini, Curator, British Architectural Library, RIBA