Stureholm Manor and garden is a relatively young farming unit on clay soil in the north
western part of Skåne, a province in Southern Sweden. Since the middle of the 19th century
the landscape has been actively cultivated and has been transformed from oak forrest into
farmingland of high efficiency.
The industrial era during the 19th and 20th centuries meant new posssibilites for cultivation of
these clay soils. With equipment like steam ploughs and the possibility to obtain fertilizers,
the harvest increased considerably. This increased prosperity provided estate Stureholm with
a beatuiful corps de logi, a manor.
The trends prevailing in Europe around the turn of the century 1800-1900 against the growing
industrialism, was turned into a artisan movement known as Arts and Craft. The Swedish
followers idealized our Swedish history and they took the turn of a national romantic
movement that later turned into neoclassicism. The neoclassical movements had strong
support among Swedish garden architects such as the Crown Princess Margareta and Rudolf
Abelin among others. They have both founded their own renowned gardens in Skåne, Sofiero
in Helsingborg and Norrviken in Båstad, both excellent examples of neoclassicism.
National romantic features are demonstrated at Stureholm Manor and gardens with it’s
pergola. Two productive personalites from Helsingborg, architect Ola Andersson and the
town gardenarchitect Oscar Landsberg were employed to actualize the dreams of a paradise
that Sture and Alice Brunnström wished to create at Stureholm. Their Manor was completed
1912 and in 1918 the formal garden with its pergola was laid out.
The garden of the Manor should not only be for pleasure. Very early on big plans were made
for fruit orchards and a greenhouse. Hazelbushes were planted, beds for asparagus dug. A
peachhouse, garden beds for growing vegetables and berrys were all needed along with
somewhere to grow annuals (summerflowers). It was quite a large garden and to make it all
possible a headgardener was employed. His responsibility being to manage and maintain the
garden and to secure harvest for the Manors family and their guests all the months of the year,
may it be fruit or flowers.
Not only a productive garden but a garden for enjoyment for both the family, their children
and of course their many guests, has been undergoing many natural changes during the almost
one hundred years that have now passed. The garden that originally was laid out is still there
but much of it’s original living material has not survived our Swedish climat. The gardens
formal architecture, the pergola, needs to be restored. Descisions for the future have been
taken and a general plan has been drafted, which also include plans that should give the
garden a renewed beauty. Other plans also include major developments for the estate, since
pigglet production stopped in 2002.
Since a few of decades ago the Manor regretfully no longer employs a headgardener. The
orchard with apple- and peartrees has became overaged and most of the trees are now gone.
Subsequently the buildings are also in need of restoration. The old orchards are now history
and in their place an arboretum is in the planning. Hopefully like an english landscape park
with paths crossing through the lawn, new sightlines and new places to sit, this hopefully will
give more opportunity to enjoy the garden, the park and the arcitechture, that already so well
interacts with the old oak forest.
Knowledge about the farm, the Manor and it’s gardenhistory, combined with my own studies
in gardenhistory and practical gardening has had some influence of how this work of exams
had developped into a report that tells the story and history of Stureholms Manor and garden.
A historical documentation has been the main goal in this work of exams but it has also
resulted in a new way to manage and maintain the garden.
Most of the historic material has been retrieved from the Manor archive. Through
litteraturestudies many answers and suggestions have been confirmed, like pieces in a puzzle
completing the historical puzzle. The knowledge from eyewitneses among some important
persons has been revealed through interviews and photos from family albums, both from
historic and present time. To make it possible to understand the aim with future develop- and
management a scheme has been drawn up by a student of landscape architechture and has
been included in this work of exams and completed with guidelines for future measures and
management. The guidelines are based on my own observations and knowhow that I have
achieved through studies and courses in landscape- and gardenmanagement.
The economic possiblitys to maintain the Manor garden with todays agricultural politics is
even harder now than one hundred years ago. Today it’s no longer possible to have a
headgardener on staff, maybe it wasn’t even in the early days. Todays salarys and taxes for
both the employeer and the employée are insuperable. This means some new and creative
solutions need to comeforth in order to keep a garden of such well maintained.
International trends of today and especially in England have put focus on garden as an artform
which have resulted in an increased interest for gardens and especially for historic gardens.
An english organisation, the National Trust, take care of historic gardens and landscapes with
especially rare and vulnerable nature among other things. These areas are often made into
public places and the maintenance is conducted by both employees and voluntarians. In
Sweden we have no organisation like the National Trust (that is independent of government),
Riksantikvarieämbetet and Länsstyrelserna are responsible for the maintenance of items and
areas of special historic values, classified by the law KML (Kulturminneslagen).
This report also includes ideas of changing forms and new forms in parts of the garden and
the farmarea, ideas that might lead to new directions for both the buildings on the farm and in
the garden. Mainly this report contains facts about the Manor and the gardens coming into
being and which influenses Rudolf Abelin and his plans for the Manor garden as an idea, has
had. A history which is important not to overlook when ideas of developing and future
changes are discussed and planned. As a support for future decisions about priority of
maintenance and changes this work also includes an overall illustrated plan of maintenance
areas, dividied into smaller areas. Within each small area suggested ideas of new form...