 Tatton Park
When the Brereton family acquired land at Tatton in the 1520s, they
built a modest black and white half-timbered manor house from which to
run the estate. Over the years this was altered and enlarged, but it
survives today as the oldest building within Tatton Park. Once at the
heart of the working estate, the Tudor 'Old Hall' today reveals
the changing lifestyles of its occupants over five centuries.
In 1598 Sir Thomas Egerton purchased the estate, leasing the Old Hall
to a family relative. Three generations inherited Tatton Park but none chose
to make it their home until it passed to John Egerton towards the end
of the 17th century. He planned a new house on the estate, sited to the
north west of the original Tudor building, and by 1716 a large three-storey
red brick house had been completed. Wyatt transformed the conventional
construction several decades later with a major re-building programme,
creating the grand mansion in neo-classical style that Tatton Park is today.
At the same time the park land surrounding the house was extended and,
by the beginning of the 19th century, some 25,000 acres were providing
an impressive landscape setting for the opulent country home of the Egertons.
The Old Hall had long since been converted to three cottages, occupied
by estate workers at Tatton, and the palatial family house was inhabited
throughout the autumn and winter months each year. When Maurice Egerton
died a bachelor in 1958, it signalled the end of the Egerton line, and
the end of Tatton Park's occupation. With no heirs, the house and grounds
were bequeathed to the National Trust, and are now looked after by Cheshire
County Council. However, Maurice was a great traveller, adventurer, explorer
and photographer, and his fascinating life and times have been recorded
in the form of a permanent exhibition at Tatton Park.
Although Tatton Park today comprises an area less than one-tenth of
its former size, it is full of interest and history. The Old Hall has
been renovated to take account of the different periods of occupation,
from medieval to the 20th century, and the working farm, whilst providing
a great attraction for modern visitors, demonstrates the integral role
it played as part of a successful country estate. The grand mansion itself
still contains an extensive collection of paintings, furnishings and
memorabilia accumulated by the Egertons throughout their 230 years of
ownership. It also has the single largest surviving collection of original
19th century furniture by Gillows of Lancaster - over 200 pieces
specially commissioned for Tatton Park.
Above all, perhaps, Tatton Park is renowned for its award-winning gardens.
The sheer diversity of individual areas and themed gardens, created and
inspired by several generations of the family, continue to attract thousands
of visitors. Early formal gardens, topiary and splendid rose gardens
sit neatly alongside the walled kitchen gardens, and Joseph Paxton's
magnificent Italian terraced garden complements his mid-19th century
conservatory and fern garden. But, acclaimed as one of the finest examples
in Europe, the outstanding Japanese garden created in the early 20th
century really steals the show. |
