A POST-WAR garden in North Dorset has been protected for future generations by being added to the National Heritage List for England.

The gardens at Shute House, near Shaftesbury, are one of 20 sites and landscapes to receive the status today.

The newly announced protections by Historic England are the result of a three-year collaboration with The Gardens Trust.

Thanks to suggestions from landscape professionals and members of the public, some of the best examples of landscapes designed between the end of the Second World War and the early 1990s have been identified for protection.

Those highlighted range from memorials, to the grounds of housing estates, institutions, and private houses, as well as commercial and industrial sites. Some also include associated structures, which have been listed.

The private garden at Shute House was designed in stages by leading post-war landscape architect Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, between 1969 and 1988, and later in the 1990s.

It is considered to be one of his greatest designs, marking the end of an extraordinary seven-decade career. It dates from Sir Geoffrey's semi-retirement, when he rediscovered draughtsmanship, and his hand drawn plans demonstrate the evolution of the design over 25 years. In his later career, his designs became more philosophical in nature, with references to the subconscious and antiquity as well as allegorical themes.

Rebecca Barrett, regional director for Historic England in the south west, said: “These past few months have taught us that our green open spaces improve the quality of the environment around us, are good for our wellbeing and give us breathing space. This project shines a light on some amazing landscapes – like the garden at Shute House - that exist all over the country, celebrating how they enhance our lives, and helping to protect them for generations to come.”

The garden is based around a natural spring, diverted into two, with one channel used to create the garden’s more formal elements and the other treated more naturally. The spring reunites in an enclosed woodland garden, then splits again into two series of ponds in a lower open landscape.

There are a series of distinctive areas, and the routes between them are carefully laid out to stimulate surprise, delight and even apprehension.

Sir Geoffrey had long studied the use of water, and for the rill (the formal channel which forms the theatrical centrepiece of the garden), he created an audio-visual aspect with bronze pipes designed to provide a chorus of different tones to cascading water.

Dominic Cole, president of The Gardens Trust, said: "We are delighted that our collaboration with Historic England has effectively doubled the number of registered post-war designed landscapes.

"This project was undertaken as part of the Garden Trust's mission to protect and promote appreciation of significant gardens, parks and landscapes of all periods.

"Inclusion on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England is vital to our ability to help such landscapes survive to delight future generations.

"Twentieth-century heritage landscapes have often been overlooked and undervalued so we hope that these additions to the register will throw a spotlight on the importance and quality of post-war designed landscapes.”