The Grotto in the Bog Garden, ‘Monk’s Well’ is so named because Upton was held in the twelfth century by the canons of St Sepulchre’s at Warwick. It is possible that the garden has been continuously cultivated from this time. Tradition has it that a series of stewponds in the valley was created by the monks to supply fish for the table. Little is known about the subsequent history of the garden until Upton was bought by Sir Rushour Cullen in 1688. The walls running down the east side and forming the southern boundary of the garden were part of his work. The large yews on the slope to the right of the lawn were probably part of a series of terraces lined with clipped yew. He was also responsibel for remodelling the stewponds to form a series of six regular rectangular ponds
The temple pool – enlarged by Robert Child in 1775.
Until the house was bought in 1927 by Lord Bearsted, the main emphasis in the garden was the production of food: fruit, nuts, vegetables and fish. From then onwards Lord and Lady Bearsted greatly improved the ornamental value of the garden.