The gardens at Wressle Castle were probably created at the same time as the castle was built. Documentary evidence indicates that by the late-15th century Wressle Castle had two gardens, both located to the south of the castle. One was probably between the south moat and the castle (the Moat Garden) and the other was south of the moat (the Old Garden). A third garden (the New Garden) was laid out north of the castle around 1472–1517. The Old and New Gardens covered about each; the former had a brick wall while the later was enclosed by a wet moat. The Old Garden contained an orchard and alleys for bowling and walking, popular pastimes of the nobility from the 16th century onwards. It also contained a two-storey 15th-century building known as the ‘School House’ where Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, would read.