On an unusually warm, sunny day back in September, I visited The Gibberd Garden in Essex.
Sir Frederick Gibberd is recognised as one of Britain’s most influential Modern Movement architects. His masterpieces range from social housing, town planning to public and religious buildings such as the Central Mosque in Regents Park, Liverpool Cathedral and the original Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 & 3.
In 1946, Gibberd was appointed responsible for the planning of Harlow new town, and moved to the outskirts on completion of the project to create the garden and house (converting what was then just an old barn on site). From 1972 until his death in 1984, Gibberd and his wife collected more than eighty sculptures, which are dotted across the garden alongside neoclassical columns, salvaged from Coutts Bank on the Strand. The individual works are given their own space, enhancing and complementing the garden’s natural features.
Credited as “one of the most important post-war gardens in the country… where sculpture and plants compliment each other perfectly”, only a 30-minute train ride from Liverpool Street, it’s a great day trip destination.
Marsh Lane, Harlow, Essex CM17 0NA
thegibberdgarden.co.uk