Open Garden Squares Weekend: Hill Garden and Pergola

Once the setting for garden parties and evening strolls, the elaborate Pergola overlooks West Heath and was created by Lord Leverhulme and landscape architect Thomas Mawson. When construction began in 1905, the large gardens of The Hill needed to be raised in order to realise Mawson’s designs and – without mechanical diggers or earthmovers ­– getting hold of the vast quantities of earth required could have posed a challenge. Luckily, the Hampstead extension to the Northern Line was being built at the same time. The contractors were delighted to find somewhere to dump the spoil from their tunnels – and Lord Leverhulme was even paid a small fee per wagon for accommodating the material he was so pleased to obtain. The Hill Garden and Pergola are open to the public all year round but for Open Garden Squares Weekend there will be a display of old and contemporary photographs tracing the development of the garden (Saturday and Sunday 1pm-4pm).