Walmsley Shaw

A Pure Thoroughbred

Completed: 01/09/2019
Location: Surrey

Located on the site of an old dairy farm, Ridgeway’s owners had completed an extensive construction project on their stables and dwellings. The next step was to upgrade their outdoor spaces to reflect the world class calibre of their business.

Designer Robin Williams’ brief was to revamp the old vegetable garden into a high-end area for entertaining. After completing the work to an impeccable standard, Walmsley Shaw was entrusted to take on landscaping and management of the entire estate.

A Garden Kitchen

Completed: 01/06/2019
Location: Bath

Our client wanted to maximise the use of their garden and top of their list was to create a welcoming area for outdoor entertaining, equipped with a kitchen to make it happen.

This was an exciting project to bring to life, with Robin William's design giving us scope to demonstrate our expertise in both re-leveling small spaces and creating bespoke features that enhance the enjoyment of a client’s home.

A Courtyard Style

Completed: 01/11/2018
Location: Wiltshire

A standard new-build lawn provided a blank canvas for this garden to bloom from – and gave designer Robin Williams the opportunity to design a plantsman’s garden that feels generous in size and rich in texture and colour.

Extreme weather conditions kept us on our toes throughout the project, but the result is a sophisticated garden for entertaining that we’re proud to have brought to life.

Cedar Town Garden

Completed: 01/05/2018
Location: Bristol

This project began with a traditional terraced garden, with overbearing retaining walls. Designer Robert Hughes was asked to create a stylish, uncluttered and practical space. 

Excavation was a huge challenge due to the sheer volumes of waste along with an awkward space and poor access. The bespoke cedar curved wall, dining table and a unique floating bench were key features creating a minimalist, luxurious, family garden.

We have traditionally focused on country garden builds, so this project has been a breath of fresh air focusing on modern materials and techniques.

Georgian meets Contemporary

Completed: 01/01/2017
Location: Bath

Over the years, we’ve built and restored many traditional formal gardens, but this was an exciting new challenge for us: a clean, sharp-edged contemporary garden in the context of a gorgeous Georgian property.

The scale of this job was immense, but for Walmsley Shaw, it was all about meticulous attention to detail, and working with no margin for error. Extremely tricky access to the site was another test for us.

Town Garden

Completed: 01/10/2015
Location: Winchester

In the heart of Winchester, this was another test of our ability to cope with difficult access. And to make this project even more of a challenge, the clients were renovating their Georgian home, meaning we had to co-ordinate our work with the main contractor, to finish at the same time.

Anne Keenan‘s stunning design also gave us a chance to demonstrate our full range of capabilities – from major earthworks (including excavating the swimming pool), to fine detail, such as the precise stonework for the gazebo, and extensive rainwater harvesting.

Seaside Garden

Completed: 01/01/2015
Location: Padstow

For this windswept Cornish garden, just 30 metres from the sea, designer Jano Williams was briefed to create an outdoor space that would draw the eye towards the dramatic coastline, while achieving a sense of serenity in keeping with the contemporary architecture.

We took care of both hard and soft landscaping – the biggest challenge being the beautiful white lintels you see below. Initially, Jano thought she would have to settle for grey; but, after an extensive search, we found a local supplier able to produce exactly what the design demanded.

Wild at Heart

Completed: 01/11/2014
Location: Bath

Our huge experience in earthworks made us a natural choice for this project, which involved massive-scale land-forming around the property, to make it blend perfectly with the surrounding Cotswold landscape.

But it was a project that called for finesse, as well as muscle, on our part. From building a large curved path on the roof terrace of the house, through construction of delicate water features, to preparation and planting of the designer’s scheme, we demonstrated our full range of skills and capabilities in bringing this beautiful garden to life.

Fit for a Superstar Chef

Completed: 01/08/2014
Location: Oxfordshire

Designer Anne Keenan, a long-time client of ours, had won a national competition, organised by the Society of Garden Designers, to design a heritage garden with the kitchen gardens at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, as a showcase for organic methods, sustainability and traditional native vegetable varieties. We were delighted that Anne entrusted Walmsley Shaw with making her vision reality. We constructed the hard landscaping using natural and recycled building materials wherever possible, to provide a perfect setting for the heritage vegetables planted by Anne, Raymond and his team.

Valley Garden

Completed: 01/03/2011
Location: Bath

Designer Amanda Patton’s vision was to link the contemporary design of the house to the surrounding meadows, using stylised hedges of flowers and grass.

For the clean contemporary look Amanda wanted, we used gorgeous freshly quarried local stone – taking the client with us, to ensure we had exactly the right colour! And with autumn storms around the corner, we also needed to move fast, putting in over 500 plants in just two days.

A Town Centre 'Oasis'

Completed: 01/01/2010
Location: Marlborough

We built this garden some time ago, but it remains one of our most challenging projects to date – and its success was down to good working relationships with the client and architect.

They both knew exactly what they wanted, but gave us the freedom to do what we’re good at, which included major earthworks, managing a hand-picked team of craftspeople, and sourcing beautiful traditional materials.