Di Goodson has uncovered what could be a mystery of Walmer Castle.

And it could mean that the spirit of the Duke of Wellington - who lived there when he was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports - remains there.

Visiting the castle, Mrs Goodson, of Station Road, Walmer, took pictures of the 'cloud' hedge.
She says: “It’s the 200th anniversary of Lord Wellington’s Battle of Waterloo next month and I thought Mercury readers might be interested in these photos.

“On a visit to Walmer Castle (where Wellington died), walking around the grounds I took one view of the famous ‘cloud’ hedge which had recently been trimmed looking towards the castle, then went and sat on the bench at the end of the walkway and took the view in the other direction.

“It wasn’t until I got home and downloaded my photos I noticed a very weird thing about the photo when I went and sat on that white bench (photo right).

“It stands out a mile to me, although I never realised it was there until I downloaded my photos on screen. There was Lord Wellington’s profile! He had a very distinctive profile as you can see (black and white picture).

“Whether or not it’s a fluke of the shadowing I’m convinced it’s him! Lord Wellington lived and died at Walmer Castle so I think he’s not entirely gone!”

Mrs Goodson adds: “Shapes can trigger your imagination and someone else may not see it? If you look further along the hedge... you can see a pig’s snout and ears!”

By 1865 Lord Granville had succeeded William Pitt as resident warden and he and his young wife began to make their mark upon the gardens at Walmer Castle, which had become unruly.

The overgrown trees and shrubs were tackled, opening up places that had become dark and dismal and creating one of the glories of Walmer - the yew-lined Broadwalk.

The Granvilles, in thrall to the fashion for long vistas in the Italian style, commissioned a professional landscape gardener, William Masters, then in his seventies.

He reacted with enthusiasm, drawing up an elaborate design for the border with flowering plants running in zigzags, like ribbons, along the entire length of the 80-metre border.

It was to be backed by a high clipped yew hedge to set off the plants to their best advantage.
But what you see today is something quite different.

The geometric green wall of yew has evolved into an undulating ‘cloud’ hedge, a result of a happy accident.

The hedge was neglected during the Second World War, but the heavy weight of snow brought by the hard winter of 1947 made it even more misshapen.

Faced with radical pruning to pull it into line it was decided instead to follow the hedge’s new contours and sculpt it into what you see today, an exuberant backdrop which complements the relaxed planting of herbaceous perennials.”