Ashintully Gardens
Encyclopedia
Ashintully Gardens is an 120 acre (0.5 km²) estate in Tyringham, Massachusetts
that is maintained by The Trustees of Reservations
land trust
. The gardens, and adjoining 594 acres (2.4 km²) reservation, were the gift of John Stewart McLennan Jr., and his wife Katharine. The name Ashintully comes from Gaelic and means "on the brow of the hill".
, and flanking meadows.
Garden features include the Fountain Pond, Pine Park, Rams Head Terrace, Bowling Green, Regency Bridge, and Trellis Triptych. Urns, columns, and statuary provide ornamentation. Foot paths, bridges, stone stairs, and grassy terraces connect various parts of the garden.
In 1997, Ashintully Gardens received the Massachusetts Horticultural Society
's H. Hollis Hunnewell Medal', a prize established to recognize gardens embellished with rare and desirable ornamental trees and shrubs.
. The land holdings of the estate with the three farms grew to almost 1,000 acres (4 km²).
On a hill overlooking the southern end of Tyringham Valley, Tytus built between 1910 - 1912 a white, Georgian
-style mansion which came to be known as the Marble Palace. The mansion's main façade featured four Doric columns and was spanned by thirteen bay windows. Its interior contained thirty-five rooms, ten baths, and fifteen fireplaces. Though the Marble Palace was destroyed by fire in 1952, the front terrace, foundation, and four Doric columns remain today.
In 1913, Tytus died at Saranac Lake, New York
, leaving his wife, Grace Henoys Tytus, and two daughters, Mildred and Victoria.
, a Canadian
industrialist and newspaper owner, and later Senator. She gave birth, in 1915, to John Jr., before subsequently being divorced.
John S. McLennan Jr. spent all his childhood summers at the Tytus estate, and acquired the property in 1937, following the death of his mother. He later moved into the farmhouse at the bottom of the hill, and renovated the nearby barn into a music studio. McLennan was an accomplished composer of contemporary classical music
, including chamber
and orchestral music and pieces for piano
and organ
. (In 1985 he won an American Academy of Arts and Letters music award.) He designed the elegant gardens as a parallel creative effort to his musical work,. In 1977 John began donating sections of the Ashintully estate to The Trustees of Reservations, although, he continued to live at the estate for the rest of his life.
Shortly before his death, in 1996, John and his wife Katharine donated additional land to the Trustees. The land, including the Marble Palace ruins, the farmhouse, and Ashintully Gardens, was donated with a reserved life estate for Katharine McLennan. Initially, 18 acres (72,843.5 m²) were reserved for Katharine; she donated 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) to the Trustees in 2003, retaining 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) with garden access, upon which her cottage resides.
After her death the title for the remaining land will be turned over to the Trustees.
The Gardens and John McLennan's life were profiled in a 2007 episode of the GardenStory series, presented by Community Idea Stations of Virginia
, and broadcast nationally on American Public Television
.
John McLennan Jr. in 1977, in addition to his garden donation to the Trustees, he also donated 446 acres (1.8 km²) of the estate in Otis and Tyringham to establish the McLennan Reservation. The reservation was expanded in 1978, 1991 and 1995 by a total of 148 acres (0.6 km²), bringing the McLennan Reservation to 594 acres (2.4 km²).
Tyringham, Massachusetts
Tyringham is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 327 at the 2010 census.- History :...
that is maintained by The Trustees of Reservations
The Trustees of Reservations
The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest regional land trust in the world and has 100,000 dues-paying members...
land trust
Land trust
There are two distinct definitions of a land trust:* a private, nonprofit organization that, as all or part of its mission, actively works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in land or conservation easement acquisition, or by its stewardship of such land or easements; or* an agreement...
. The gardens, and adjoining 594 acres (2.4 km²) reservation, were the gift of John Stewart McLennan Jr., and his wife Katharine. The name Ashintully comes from Gaelic and means "on the brow of the hill".
Description
The gardens blend several natural features into an ordered arrangement with both formal and informal beauty. These include a rushing stream, native deciduous trees, a rounded knollHillock
A hillock or knoll is a small hill, usually separated from a larger group of hills such as a range. Hillocks are similar in their distribution and size to small mesas or buttes. The term is largely a British one...
, and flanking meadows.
Garden features include the Fountain Pond, Pine Park, Rams Head Terrace, Bowling Green, Regency Bridge, and Trellis Triptych. Urns, columns, and statuary provide ornamentation. Foot paths, bridges, stone stairs, and grassy terraces connect various parts of the garden.
In 1997, Ashintully Gardens received the Massachusetts Horticultural Society
Massachusetts Horticultural Society
The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, sometimes abbreviated to MassHort, is an American horticultural society based in Massachusetts. It describes itself as the oldest, formally-organized horticultural institution in the United States...
's H. Hollis Hunnewell Medal', a prize established to recognize gardens embellished with rare and desirable ornamental trees and shrubs.
History
Ashintully Gardens came about through the efforts of two men: Robb de Peyster Tytus and John S. McLennan Jr.Robb de Peyster Tytus
In the early 20th century, Egyptologist and politician Robb de Peyster Tytus assembled the estate from the merger of three farms in Tyringham and additional land in OtisOtis, Massachusetts
Otis is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,365 at the 2000 census....
. The land holdings of the estate with the three farms grew to almost 1,000 acres (4 km²).
On a hill overlooking the southern end of Tyringham Valley, Tytus built between 1910 - 1912 a white, Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
-style mansion which came to be known as the Marble Palace. The mansion's main façade featured four Doric columns and was spanned by thirteen bay windows. Its interior contained thirty-five rooms, ten baths, and fifteen fireplaces. Though the Marble Palace was destroyed by fire in 1952, the front terrace, foundation, and four Doric columns remain today.
In 1913, Tytus died at Saranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake is a village located in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406. The village is named after Upper, Middle, and Lower Saranac Lakes, which are nearby....
, leaving his wife, Grace Henoys Tytus, and two daughters, Mildred and Victoria.
John Stewart McLennan Jr.
A year after Tytus' death, his widow married John Stewart McLennanJohn Stewart McLennan
John Stewart McLennan was a Conservative member of the Senate of Canada. He was born in Montreal, Quebec and became an industrialist and publisher....
, a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
industrialist and newspaper owner, and later Senator. She gave birth, in 1915, to John Jr., before subsequently being divorced.
John S. McLennan Jr. spent all his childhood summers at the Tytus estate, and acquired the property in 1937, following the death of his mother. He later moved into the farmhouse at the bottom of the hill, and renovated the nearby barn into a music studio. McLennan was an accomplished composer of contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
, including chamber
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
and orchestral music and pieces for piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
. (In 1985 he won an American Academy of Arts and Letters music award.) He designed the elegant gardens as a parallel creative effort to his musical work,. In 1977 John began donating sections of the Ashintully estate to The Trustees of Reservations, although, he continued to live at the estate for the rest of his life.
Shortly before his death, in 1996, John and his wife Katharine donated additional land to the Trustees. The land, including the Marble Palace ruins, the farmhouse, and Ashintully Gardens, was donated with a reserved life estate for Katharine McLennan. Initially, 18 acres (72,843.5 m²) were reserved for Katharine; she donated 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) to the Trustees in 2003, retaining 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) with garden access, upon which her cottage resides.
After her death the title for the remaining land will be turned over to the Trustees.
The Gardens and John McLennan's life were profiled in a 2007 episode of the GardenStory series, presented by Community Idea Stations of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and broadcast nationally on American Public Television
American Public Television
American Public Television is the largest syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States.-History:...
.
McLennan Reservation
Adjoining the Ashintully Gardens are parts of the remnants of the vast 1,000 acres (4 km²) assembled by Robb de Peyster Tytus.John McLennan Jr. in 1977, in addition to his garden donation to the Trustees, he also donated 446 acres (1.8 km²) of the estate in Otis and Tyringham to establish the McLennan Reservation. The reservation was expanded in 1978, 1991 and 1995 by a total of 148 acres (0.6 km²), bringing the McLennan Reservation to 594 acres (2.4 km²).