The Manor Houses of Lackham 1050-1949 2nd Ed

Houses of Lackham 2 nd ed 57
Fig. 42 Edwardian mobile garden benches : left from 1904 postcard, right
photo taken at Powis Castle **
In October 2004 a broken pipeline resulted in diesel oil contaminating the
area east and south of the terraces and the ha-ha. Rapid excavation of
the affected areas was carried out to avoid contamination of the River
Avon, and this gave a unique opportunity to investigate the construction
of the ha-ha and the terraces 71 .
Examination of the cross section of the ha-ha ditch showed that it was
originally some 50cm deeper than it was before excavation, that the
original width at the top was 1.1 metres and 75 cm at the base, which was
gently curved. Figure 6 (over) shows the ha-ha ditch excavated. The
drainage pipe at the bottom of the ditch is probably original and put in
place at the time of construction; there as no indication in the section
71 This section is partially taken from Pratt, T (2005) A note on the late Victorian
terraces at Lackham, Wiltshire , and their relation to an earlier garden feature
Monograph mss report in Wiltshire College Lackham Library. It also appears in Pratt T
(2005) The Manor of Lackham – its owners and some historical connections Appendix 3
pp212 – 221