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.