Studley Royal, this idyllic English garden was created in the first half of the 18th century in the scenic Yorkshire Skell river valley. The main approach to the house is a long allee of trees focused on the Ripon Cathedral almost 3 miles on the horizon. The formal part of the garden is isolated from the Palladian house that burned down in 1946 but a similar Palladian style stables remains on 800 acres parkland. The raised valley floor anchored a series of straight and curved canals controlled by numerous weirs. The center of the valley and garden is a series of Moon ponds, one full circle, one half circle and two crescent that may represent the waxing and waning of the Moon. The ponds are laid out in an asymmetrical form that echos the natural serpentine valley floor and is reminiscent of natural oxbow lakes. Clipped yew hedges separate the formal water & Parterre à l'Angloise from the planted native tree hillside. Steep and angular turf banks frame the valley floor. Here the light and wind play off the water surface and the tree canopy. Everywhere the sound of water.
