New Castle by Anthony St John Parsons: A Walled Garden House Design in Merewether

The New Castle in southern Merewether, designed by Anthony St John Parsons, is a rare architectural exploration of mystery, privacy, and elemental materiality. Framed entirely within a walled garden, the house emerges as a meditative retreat—concealed from the outside world and deeply engaged with nature within. This walled garden house design is both an architectural expression of sanctuary and a poetic choreography of form, scale, and experience.

Architectural Mystery Behind Walls

From the street, the house appears monumental yet enigmatic. A thick limestone wall begins at hip height and rises steadily to two stories, curving and shielding the residence. Few deliberate openings punctuate the surface—massive or minimal, but never conventional—inviting a sense of curiosity and speculation. The ambiguity of scale and function makes the home feel otherworldly, as though it exists outside of everyday context.

This intentional mystique is not accidental. The architect sought to evoke a sense of quiet grandeur through uncanny architectural moves—oversized columns, unpredictable heights, and familiar materials used in unfamiliar ways. Raw concrete and non-native limestone are cast in a language of restraint and surprise, giving the house a sculptural presence embedded in its landscape.

Inside the Garden: A Hidden World Unfolds

Within the sheltering wall, the house opens into a labyrinth of rooms and courtyards that interweave interior and exterior spaces. The spatial plan snakes and shifts, offering a procession of single-room-width spaces that generate intimate connections to the surrounding gardens. This organization provides ever-changing light conditions, cross ventilation, and immersive views of vegetation at every turn.

The architecture’s winding nature also creates micro-landscapes—hidden pockets of green and open-air transitions that blur the line between built and natural environments. These external spaces aren’t decorative—they are structural, spatial, and integral to how the house functions as a whole.

Multi-Level Dialogues with Nature

Each level of the New Castle establishes a distinct sensory and spatial relationship with the surrounding environment. The ground floor, with its loggias and three-story courtyards, cultivates a cool, shaded ambiance amidst lush greenery. This is where the architecture feels closest to the earth—humid, dark, and sheltering.

The middle level takes advantage of elevation, centering around a pool and an open-air promenade. Here, the design emphasizes canopy-level experiences—dryness, filtered sunlight, and the textured dialogue between concrete, water, and leaves.

The uppermost level is wholly dedicated to the master suite. This space engages with the horizon and the sky, creating a secluded aerie that offers both solitude and expansive outlooks. Each level not only responds to the environment differently but choreographs the emotional journey through the house.

A Collaborative Craft of Ambition and Precision

Behind the poetic spatial story lies an extraordinary commitment to execution. With a small team comprising one architect and a graduate, the design and construction process spanned over 600 detailed drawings and a 1000-page text message conversation between the architect and the builder. Every joint, screw, and formwork line was meticulously detailed, resulting in a finished product that is not just a home, but a carefully sculpted artifact of collaboration and craft.

Despite its visual subtlety, the house is a bold architectural gesture—a sanctuary that blends timeless materials, mysterious form, and natural immersion. The construction took just 2.5 years, a remarkable feat considering the precision, ambition, and inventiveness of the project.

A Sub Rosa Sanctuary

The New Castle is not a home that reveals itself easily. Its walled perimeter suggests protection, retreat, and mystery. But beyond the heavy limestone is a world of light, space, and quiet drama. This walled garden house design invites its inhabitants to engage slowly, to experience stillness, and to discover the architecture through time, shadow, and subtle transition.

The result is a deeply personal, emotionally resonant home—one that celebrates nature not just as backdrop, but as an active participant in how space is shaped and lived. New Castle stands as a once-in-a-career architectural work—refined, radical, and profoundly alive.

All Photographs are works of Benjamin Hosking