Greenbank Garden
Encyclopedia
Clarkston, East Renfrewshire
Clarkston is a small town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. Although it is administratively outside nearby Glasgow, Clarkston is geographically an outer suburb of the city and part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation....
, near Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
is an 18th-century house and garden owned and operated by the National Trust for Scotland
National Trust for Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...
and open to the public. The house is situated about six miles (10 km) from the centre of Glasgow. The house has sixteen rooms, and also barns, stables and a 2.5 acres (10,117.2 m²) walled garden
Walled garden
A walled garden is specifically a garden enclosed by high walls for horticultural rather than security purposes, though traditionally all gardens have been hedged about or walled for protection from animal or human intruders...
. The house is protected as a Category A listed building.
History
The GeorgianGeorgian 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...
house was built in 1763 by a Glasgow merchant by the name of Robert Allason. Allason was a local man who had begun life as a baker, before setting up with his brothers in Port Glasgow
Port Glasgow
Port Glasgow is the second largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16617 persons...
as a trader. He made his fortune trading with Britain's American colonies
British America
For American people of British descent, see British American.British America is the anachronistic term used to refer to the territories under the control of the Crown or Parliament in present day North America , Central America, the Caribbean, and Guyana...
, eventually becoming a land-holder in the Caribbean. The profits from trade in both tobacco and slaves, allowed him to purchase Flenders Farm (land his family had worked for centuries) and establish the house. However, Allason's trading interests later suffered during the American War of Independence.
Over the next two centuries, the house was owned by a number of families. In 1962 it was bought by W P Blyth who, with his wife, transformed the grounds from fruit and vegetable growing to the ornamental gardens that are seen today. Then, in 1976, Mr & Mrs Blyth gifted the house, walled garden, and the 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) estate to the National Trust for Scotland. Today, the Gardens are open all year round, and the house from March until October.
Description
As well as the walled garden and the house, there are also 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) of woodland marked particularly by rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s. The woodland also contains a herd of Highland cattle
Highland cattle
Highland cattle or kyloe are a Scottish breed of beef cattle with long horns and long wavy coats which are coloured black, brindled, red, yellow or dun....
.