Little Harle walled garden

Dating back to the late 18th century, the 2.5-acre Georgian walled garden at Little Harle Tower served as a productive kitchen garden.

Left entirely overgrown by the mid-1970s, it has been painstakingly restored to include traditional fruit orchards, cut flowers, and vegetables utilised by the Anderson family, who have owned the estate since 1848.

The Little Harle Tower estate—located just north of Newcastle near Kirkwhelpington—is rich in Northumbrian heritage. The broader historic estate incorporates a 15th-century medieval pele tower, with the main house rebuilt and extended in an 1860s Gothic Revival style.

At its peak prior to the First World War, the walled garden and grounds employed a dedicated team of 23 gardeners. When the current generation of the Anderson family inherited and moved to the estate in 1976, the Georgian brickwork structure was completely neglected and choked with comfrey.

Following an extensive restoration, the garden was revived to honor its historical design.

Today, the garden remains a cornerstone of the private estate, continuing a long tradition of horticulture that spans over two centuries now embracing a fully productive cut flower farm.