Holland Park

Holland Park is the London’s Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s largest park at 22.5 hectares with one of the main attractions being the Japanese garden, Kyoto Garden. The park is open daily from 07:30 until 30 minutes before dusk.

The park, originally, was the grounds for Cope Castle, which was a Jacobean mansion hidden away in the woods. The mansion was built by Sir Walter Cope in the early 17th century, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer under King James I rule. It was renamed to Holland House after the Earl of Holland’s wife Lady Rich had acquired it through inheritance. Following World War II, the mansion was severely damaged leaving only one wing remaining, which is now used for open air theatre and classical concerts.

The Kyoto Garden was created by to celebrate the Japan festival as a joint venture between the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the chamber of commerce of Kyoto. It was donated by the chamber of commerce of Kyoto and opened in 1991. It was refurbished in 2001 with garden specialists flown in from Japan to retransform the Garden. The Garden is done in a “tour garden” style, a traditional style of a Japanese garden, with everything carefully arranged to fit and shape in with the climate and locality to make it seem natural.

The garden is made up of different elements with different representations. The waterfall represents mountains and gorges with the water leading into the pond as a representation of the ocean. Around the pond runs paths and a stonebridge. The whole garden is a representation of the splendour and beauty of the landscape. Positioned at different points in the Garden, tōrō (stone lanterns), tsukubai (stone washbasin) and shishi-odoshi (bamboo alarm to scare off animals) are placed along the paths for the enjoyment for the sights of visitors.

 

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