Immediately to the east of the great mansion of Castle Howard in North Yorkshire rises a small wooded hill. This is Ray Wood, a place with important horticultural histories, set 300 years apart. Shown on the estate map of 1694, Ray Wood was a patch of ancient woodland retained to provide fuel and timber for the occupants of what was Henderskelfe castle and village. The building of Castle Howard from 1699 swept away all traces of both: the castle was razed, the village translocated – but the wood remained. Over time, it was transformed through some of the theatricality that characterized Vanbrugh and Hawksmoor’s vision for Castle Howard for their patron, the third Earl of Carlisle – a pleasure garden was created at its heart.
In the early 1700s the wood was dissected by gravel walks and peppered
