AYRSHIRE, SCOTLAND—According to a report in The National, traces of an eighteenth-century walled kitchen garden were found below the manicured grass of the Fountain Court at Culzean Castle during work to improve the drainage at the site. The garden is thought to have been built on the east side of the castle by Sir John Kennedy of Culzean, second Baronet, in 1733. It appears on a map of the castle, drawn in 1755, which records rows of planted beds and fruit trees. The fruits and vegetables are thought to have been moved to the southeast of the castle in order to open up the views to the picturesque landscape by Scottish architect Robert Adam, who began a 15-year renovation of the castle in 1777. About six courses of the stone wall remain. Most of the stone was probably reused to reconstruct the garden walls in the new location. To read about another castle, go to “Letter from England: Stronghold of the Kings in the North.”
