Highbury’s Italian Garden

Origins & Design

Planned by Joseph and Mary Chamberlain in 1899, the Italian Garden at Highbury was conceived as a formal pleasance contrasting with the surrounding parkland. Work began that autumn, transforming part of the meadow into a two-level garden. Several mature oaks from the original fields were retained to lend maturity and continuity, while a beech hedge enclosed the space on three sides.
By 1900 the upper terrace featured a sunk lawn with L-shaped beds, and the lower section, five feet below, became a rock garden. A pergola, installed in December 1900, linked the two levels and was later covered in golden hop, honeysuckle, and rambler roses. Wooden garden seats, including circular benches around the oaks, were painted light green and placed throughout the garden to create secluded resting points.

Expansion & Ornamentation

Joseph Chamberlain extended the surrounding gardens, starting with the Dutch Garden in 1901. Around 1904, an ornate cast-iron Italian gate was installed at the upper entrance, which was likely purchased during one of the Chamberlains’ visits to Italy that year.

By 1905 Mary Chamberlain was planning to install a fountain, which photographs from 1906 show had been completed as a lead “Cherub Fountain” featuring swans supporting a cherub with a basin and water jet. The water was likely channelled from the nearby Oak Tree Pond.

In 1908 the garden gained additional decoration with Compton Pottery circular terracotta pots, planted with sunflowers, and Riccari of Impruneta pots and troughs placed along the railing and seating areas. Much of the furniture and ornamentation, possibly purchased through J. P. White’s Pyghtle Works in Bedford, reflected the Chamberlains’ preference for English craftsmanship blended with Italian inspiration.

Decline & Change

When the Chamberlains left Highbury in 1914, many of the garden’s ornaments were removed and some were sold, others were retained by family members. In 1915, the garden seats were auctioned, with Neville Chamberlain buying one for his own garden.

During the First World War, the Italian Garden was dug up for vegetable cultivation. By 1921 it had become part of the public park, and in the 1930s the design was simplified into two large flower beds with a central path, while the fountain basin was replanted with pampas grass. In the 1940s, the path was resurfaced with red brick salvaged from the former Dutch Garden.

Planting & Character

Mary Chamberlain’s planting arrangements celebrated colour and variety. Early borders featured violas, lupins, delphiniums, phlox, poppies, and sweet peas, later giving way to bold summer displays of hollyhocks, mulleins, and coreopsis. Period descriptions mention neighbouring beds planted in mass with irises, lilies, asters, and sunflowers, creating the vibrant, painterly effects typical of Edwardian gardens. Seasonal displays filled the pots, which meant tulips in spring, then sunflowers and carnations in the summer.

Legacy

Although many original features were lost or dispersed, the Italian Garden remains a significant example of Edwardian garden design at Highbury. The surviving brick fountain basin and terraced layout still evoke the Chamberlains’ vision of a tranquil, ornamental retreat blending English formality with Mediterranean charm.