Only as the Castle transformed from  a fortress to a stately home, did Warwick Castle's grounds and gardens blossom.  The transformation was down to one of Britain's greatest landscape gardeners,  Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. It is believed that Warwick Castle was Brown's  first independent commission and his achievements here during the 1750s won him  praise and national recognition. Brown's genius...

First laid down in 1868, the Victorian Rose Garden, like the Peacock  Garden was designed by Robert Marnock.

By the end of the Second World War, though, it had disappeared under a tennis  court. Fortunately, two of Marnock's original drawings survived, so the plot was  lovingly brought back to life in 1986.

Its charm stems from the contrast between the very precise geometry and  proportions of the beds and the garden's informal, almost secretive setting.The roses are all of the old-fashioned type, many of them  popular with the Victorians. To commemorate the recreation of the garden, 120  years on, a new English rose was bred and named 'Warwick Castle'. The best time  to see the display is in late June and the whole of July.

The pair of unusual icehouses date back to the 1830s and were  built in the earth bank facing away from the sun. They were still being used in  1869 when in December of that year 16s 4d allowance was paid 'to men filling the  ice houses'.

The beautifully proportioned conservatory, which acts as a  focal point in the landscape, was built in 1786 by a local mason, William  Eborall.

Originally, it was designed as a home for the Warwick Vase, a magnificent  piece of ancient Roman pottery excavated near Tivoli in 1771.

The original vase is now on display at the Burrell Collection in Glasgow.  There is, however, a full-size replica standing in the conservatory, which has  since been converted back to its Victorian use as an ornamental glasshouse for  growing exotic plants.

Directly in front of the conservatory is the Peacock Garden, designed by the  Victorian landscape gardener Robert Marnock.Just to the south-east is a group of trees that includes a Wellingtonia planted  by Prince Albert in 1858. Queen Victoria also planted an oak which stands close  to the driveway from the courtyard. Just 18.3 metres from this magnificent oak  is a young oak tree which was planted on 1st January 2000 to celebrate the  coming of a new century.
Running gently down to the river is Pageant Field,  flanked on either side by trees, of which some, like the Cedars of Lebanon, are  over 200 years old

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