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Garden Name: Lyme Park
Last Modified: 18/01/2010
Garden ID: 0274

pic: 0274_LymePark.jpg

Owner: National Trust
Address:
Disley
Stockport

Postcode: SK12 2NX
County: Cheshire

tel: 01663 762 023
fax: 01663 765035
website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk
email: lymepark {at} nationaltrust.org.uk

Features: 
Glorious mansion house, surrounded by stunning gardens, moorland and ancient deer park; A Tudor house transformed into a huge Italianate palace in the 18th century; Tranquil Victorian garden, with roses, reflection lake and sunken parterre; Vast medieval deer park, moorland and woodland estate to explore; Famous scene in Pride & Prejudice (1995) where Darcy emerges from a lake was filmed here; Adventure playground and lots of children's events throughout the year

English Heritage Grade:
II*

Opening Times:
Park: Open all year 8am - 6pm
Garden: 27th Feb - 31st Oct, 11am - 5pm, Daily
House tours (restricted numbers) 11am-12pm. Open to all 12pm-5pm. Last admission 30mins before closing

Best Times of Year to Visit: 


To see: 


National Collection: 


National Garden Scheme days: No
Comments: 

Parties / Coaches: Yes 
Comments: Coaches bringing booked groups - Park admission free.

Viewing by Appointment: Yes
Comments:  

House Open for Viewing: Yes
Comments: 27 Feb - 31st Oct, 11 - 5pm, Fri - Tues. Tours 11am-12p

Admission Prices:
Adult £9.00, child £4.00, Family £22.00
House only: £5.95, child £3.00.
Garden only: £5.60, child £2.80

Parking: Yes
Lavatories: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Shop: Yes
Plants for Sale: Yes
Lunches: Yes
Teas: Yes
Refreshments: Yes
Picnics: Yes
Dogs allowed: Yes
Only on Lead: Yes
Events: Yes

Other Facilities:
Interactive exhibition about living and working at Lyme. 15th-century Caxton Lyme Missal on display


Designer: 
Description of Garden:
15 acres of garden and parkland surround one of England's best preserved and most beautiful Palladian houses which had its heyday in the late 19th century and has featured more recently in a number of films and TV programmes, not least Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". Of particular note to the west of the house is the vast sunken Dutch Garden, which, although destroyed in a flood in 1973, has been restored by the National Trust to the splendour of the original design of the 1st Lord Newton, with its central fountain and intricate design of seasonal plantings edged in ivy. 

In a rather unforgiving climate the Orangery was of especial importance and the one at Lyme, designed by Lewis Wyatt in 1815 and remade by Alfred Derbyshire in 1865, does not disappoint, even containing a fig tree and two spectacular camellias from the Victorian era. It is fronted by terrace beds displaying Penstemon 'Rubicundus', first raised at Lyme in 1906. There is a smaller sunken garden to the north commemorating the Hon. Vicary Gibbs, a famous gardener and friend of the 2nd Lord Newton, which contains several plants named after him and his garden in Hertfordshire.

The garden features a large lake designed to reflect the view of the house and there are many fine trees to be found in a design which leads the eye to the Lanthorn Tower folly. Rhododendrons, azaleas and ferns abound in the area known as Killtime.

A 'deer' park of almost 1400 acres surrounds the property offering a diverse range of moorland, parkland and woodland habitats.


History: 
Owned for almost 600 years by the Legh family, the original house was Tudor but was re-built to an Italianate design by Giacomo Leoni in the early 18th century. It was acquired by the National Trust in 1947 but its upkeep was supported by Stockport Metropolitan Council until they could no longer afford to do so in 1994 and now share the costs with the Trust. Both organisations have been responsible for the remarkable programme of restoration for both the house and, latterly, the garden.

Local Inns: 
Waltzing Weasel, Birch Vale, nr. Hayfield
Sportsman, Hayfield

Accomodation: 
Waltzing Weasel, Birch Vale, nr. Hayfield
Sportsman, Hayfield

Restaurants: 
Ale Cellar Restaurant, Lyme Park

Village/Town/Sightseeing: 
Peak District National Park