In the 1970s the Coutts Bank building in central London was partly remodelled to a design by the architect Sir Frederick Gibberd. A new glass entrance was designed to replace the columned central section of the facade on the Strand. As work progressed Gibberd salvaged some of the redundant masonry to reuse at his Essex home. There he indulged in what the Architects’ Journal called ‘that virtuous activity’ of building follies.
Sir Frederick Gibberd (1908-1984) was the Master Planner of the new town created at Harlow, in Essex, from 1946. Needing to be close to the works, he bought a small cottage on Marsh Lane. He remodelled the house and developed the extensive garden, which had plenty of space for the sculpture and architectural salvage Gibberd collected with his second wife, Patricia (they married in 1972).
Gibberd decided to use some of the redundant masonry from Coutts to create a ‘Roman’ Temple in the garden. His colleagues on site were apparently disgruntled by this decision, as removing the columns Gibberd had chosen was time consuming work – they would have preferred to smash the whole lot to bits.
The masonry was delivered the following year, and as Gibberd wrote ‘a huge lorry equipped with a crane drove down my lane, demolished three trees and dumped a pile of huge fragments in a ditch opposite my entrance gates’. The stone was dragged to the prepared site on a sledge with steel runners.
Three men with a crane and a digger were recruited to construct the folly. Two Portland stone columns and a section of frieze were to be erected in the form of a temple inspired by ancient Roman models. Steel rods were inserted in the columns to give support and one of the men sat in the bucket of the digger to guide the stones into place. The crane driver was asked to drop a third column, so that it would appear to have fallen and broken. The bewildered man exclaimed ‘They’ve come all the way from London and I’m to drop one of them?’, and apparently demanded the instruction in writing so that he couldn’t be held responsible for the damage.
It was, Gibberd concluded, a ‘very expensive folly’, but it brought him great pleasure. When passers-by paused at the gate and asked what the structure was, Gibberd enjoyed telling them it was a fragment from an ancient Roman temple discovered during the development of a nearby industrial estate.
Four urns from the Trafalgar Square facade of the bank, which Gibberd believed to be made of Coade Stone, were mounted on a plinth and placed at an angle to the temple to create a pleasing ensemble.
Although Gibberd claimed to have no masterplan for his garden, he did draw an exquisite plan and elevation of the temple and its garden setting. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1981 as ‘Roman’ Temple (Gibberd was elected RA in 1969).
The Architects’ Journal thought the whole of the bank’s facade should have been retained, or at least reused at another building, but as their reporter concluded, at least Gibberd had ‘tried to atone and Freddie’s folly promises to become a well-loved landmark in Freddie’s own New Town’.
Gibberd died in 1984 and left his house and garden to Harlow for the benefit of the people of the town, although initially it remained home to his widow and there were only occasional open days. Complications over his will left the garden vulnerable (a long story), but there was strong local support and in 1995 the Gibberd Garden Trust was formed to maintain the site and welcome visitors. Lady Gibberd remained closely involved until her death in 2006.
Gibberd said that the half a mile approached road gave his garden ‘a quality of remoteness’. Modern housing now stands close to the track, but is still an adventure to drive down the long lane, wondering if you have perhaps taken a wrong turn, only to suddenly spot the eagle-topped gateposts.
Gibberd’s comments on making the garden are from his lecture notes On Making Gardens and Landscapes which are in the Gibberd archive at the Garden Museum. Sir Frederick and Lady Gibberd were early supporters of the museum where you can see a small display celebrating Gibberd’s work. The account of the bemused lorry driver is from oral histories collected by Annalise Taylor and published to mark 25 years of the Gibberd Garden Trust.
The Gibberd Garden reopens for the 2026 season on Wednesday 1 April. There’s more here.
Thank you for reading. If you would like to share any thoughts please scroll down to the comments box. You can find it at the bottom of the page.
Jane Dorner says:
What did the original bank look like? Seems vandalistic to have modernised it.
Editor says:
Morning Jane. Good point – I should have included an image. Hopefully this link works https://www.londonpicturearchive.org.uk/view-item?i=142545&WINID=1774683754823
David Winpenny says:
Gibberd must have been influenced by the Riun at Virginia Water, where Wyatville put up a gift of columns from Leptis Magna for George IV.
Editor says:
Hello David. Yes, there were models both ancient and modern (relatively) which might have inspired Gibberd. I’m sure he would have known the ruins at Virginia Water, and no doubt the columns in the Forum in Rome. I’m so pleased that he was inspired to build his own temple in such a tranquil corner of his garden.
Garance says:
I visited the Gibberd Garden with fellow Sculpture Studies Masters students around 2001 when Lady Gibberd hosted us for lunch and a walk about – she was hoping one of us might go and work there. At the time, we were more focussed on the wonderful sculptural works in the garden and didn’t ask about the provenance of the follies/architectural pillars. Thanks for that post, always more to learn.
Editor says:
Hello Garance. It must have been wonderful to tour the garden with Lady Gibberd and to hear the stories behind the sculpture. It’s a fascinating garden, I’m hoping to revisit soon.
Sally says:
We’re well acquainted with the Gibberd Gardens as one of Terry’s cousins & wife, who lived in Old Harlow, were enthusiastic supporters & very involved. Not far from us here in Hertford.
Gordon died recently (in his 90’s) & after a woodland burial the Wake was held at GG.
No time for a walk around, sadly! In the early days it was quite a perilous experience!
Lovely article, I’ll forward it to Jane, Gordon’s widow.
Editor says:
Hello Sally. Great to hear your memories of the garden over the years. What a great spot to remember and celebrate a life. Thanks for sharing with your friend and please let me know if she can add to the story.
Sally says:
Jane was delighted to read your article – here’s her reply to me:
“This is a fascinating introduction to a byway of architectural interest of which I had no knowledge ….thank you so much. Needless to say I have been lost to follies on-line all afternoon and am about to send a link to Gibberd Garden friends.”
Editor says:
Thank you Sally. I’m delighted Jane enjoyed an afternoon exploring follies!
TOM GARDNER says:
TOM (USA)
NOW 80, MY FIRST TIME VISITING EUROPE, DURING THE SUMMER OF 1964 – ((AUSTRIA, GERMANY, DENMARK, FRANCE, AND ITALY) … MY EYES AND MIND WERE –
‘SET ON FIRE’, VIA THE BEAUTY AND INPACT CREATED BY SUCH STRUCTURES.
HAVING STATED THE ABOVE, IT FOLLOWS THAT YOUR DEDICATION, AND MOST GENEROUS EFFORTS – ALLOWS US ALL TO CONTINUE THIS ENRICHMENT .
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
TOM
David Edgar says:
Gibbberd’s design for the ‘Roman’ Temple shows not only a plan but also a co-ordinated Front Elevation (or cross section) which makes the whole creation come alive. J C (Jack) Shepherd and G A (Geoffrey) Jellicoe visited and measured Italian Renaissance gardens in the 1920s, publishing in 1925 “Italian Gardens of the Renaissance”. It has been republished in various forms later. Many of the plans are accompanied by a cross section. The understanding of the gardens, with villa, trees, pools, paths and walls and the profile of the ground shown against the plan gives a sensation of almost being there. The authors also took a lot of dreamy black and white photos.
Editor says:
Good morning David. Thank you – this is most interesting.