If you’ve visited our West Front Gardens here at Wentworth Woodhouse, you may have noticed that dug beneath the surface of the greenery sits an overgrown area to the left of the main centre path. Is it a pond? A swimming pool? What could those steps be for? Where do they lead? This area is our Sunken Garden.
The area was formerly known as the Botanical Garden. At some point in the early nineteenth century, a new post of Botanic Gardener was introduced to Wentworth. The Botanic Gardener would have responsibility for the Greenhouse, the Botanical Garden, the flower garden in the Menagerie, and various other plant houses. The only Botanic Gardener, that we know of, was Joseph Cooper who seem to have been established by the early 1820s. In 1836, the Botanical Register commented that, ‘Mr Cooper is one of the most zealous and successful cultivators of rare plants in this kingdom’1. He held this position until his death in 1844, and the position seems also to have ceased at this time.
In the early 1900s, following on from the Gardens at Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace, the fashion for a formal Edwardian style sunken garden swept across the country. Thus, the Botanical Garden was redesigned in 1903. Over time, however, this once-elegant space fell into neglect. Now, thanks to generous funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund (thanks to money raised by National Lottery players), and the valuable heritage skills of Heritage Masonry Contracts Ltd., we are now trying to turn back time and restore the Sunken Garden to its former glory.
From excavating the original paths, to clearing the basin, the Team have been hard at work – and there’s plenty more to be done. If you’d like to help us fund more projects like this and be part of our efforts to restore this magnificent House & Gardens, please feel free to click here to donate.