************* Garden Owners, Please copy this information and paste it into an email to: wb [at] armchair-travel [dot] com Please make any changes in BRIGHT RED in your email back to us. Regards, Armchair Travel Co Ltd http://www.armchair-travel.com ************* Garden Name: Mannington Hall Last Modified: 04/03/2010 Garden ID: 0065 pic: 0065x_mannington.jpg Owner: The Lord & Lady Walpole Address: Saxthorpe Norwich Postcode: NR11 7BB County: Norfolk tel: 01263 584175 fax: 01263 761214 website: www.manningtongardens.co.uk email: laurelwalpole {at} manningtongardens.co.uk Features: Outstanding rose collection with history of the rose display and heritage rose garden, interesting trees and shrubs. Lake and extensive country walks, meadow with boardwalk. 4th June - "The Importance of Being Earnest" - Rain or Shine Theatre 13th & 23rd June - Artlands Art & Garden - Works created for or inspired by the garden. 1st - 5th Aug - Wolterton - Children's Musical Workshop 20th Aug - "La Traviata" - Garden Opera Company 18/19th Sept - Wolterton Costume & Textile Fair 16/17th Oct - Norfolk Living History Fair 31st Oct - Afternoon concert 13th - 17th Nov - NCCS Contemporary Craft Display English Heritage Grade: II Opening Times: Mannington: May - Sept; Sundays; 12 noon - 5pm June - August; Wed, Thurs & Fri; 11am - 5pm Walks & Car Park open every day 9am - dusk Wolterton Park; every day; 9am - dusk Best Times of Year to Visit: June & July To see: Rose collection National Collection: National Garden Scheme days: Yes Comments: 2nd May, 26th Sept Parties / Coaches: Yes Comments: Viewing by Appointment: Yes Comments: House Open for Viewing: No Comments: Wolterton Hall 2 miles away; 23rd Apr - 29th Oct; Fri; 2pm - 5pm, last entry 4pm Admission Prices: Adult £5; Child free; Over 60s £4; Family £15, Single £10; Party rates £3.50 pp (pre-booked and pre-paid); Hall tours for special interest groups £6. Walks and car park £2 Wolterton Hall: £5. Car Park £2 per day. Seeason Tickets: Single £15; Families £25. Parking: Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes Shop: Yes Plants for Sale: Yes Lunches: Yes Teas: Yes Refreshments: Yes Picnics: Yes Dogs allowed: No Only on Lead: No Events: Yes Other Facilities: Consult own website for programme of events. Catering by arrangement for groups Designer: Lord Walpole Description of Garden: There are two different sites at Mannington Hall, one is a park and the other is a garden. The gardens around this mediaeval moated manor house feature a wide variety of plants, trees and shrubs in many different settings. Throughout the gardens are thousands of roses, especially classic varieties. The Heritage Rose and Twentieth Century Rose Gardens have roses in areas with designs reflecting their date of origin from the fifteenth century to the present day. There are believed to be more than 1500 rose varieties in the gardens. The park is about 20 acres. One unusual feature are the depressions in the ground which may still be seen, two near the chapel and one to the right of the main drive. A contemporary description of 1717 says 'to the astonishment of those that were present, first single oak with roots and ground about was seen to subside and sink into the earth' and continues to say that then another two trees disappeared, leaving large pits. This alarming event probably occurred because of changes in the course of those underground springs which are still present and feed the lakes and moat. Substantial tree planting has taken place in the last thirty years. History: Mentioned as a substantial property in the Domesday Book, much of the present Hall was built in the 15th century and a map of 1565 shows it as a self-sufficient manorial community. After it was purchased by the 1st Lord Walpole in the mid-18th century, the 4th Earl of Orford established the gardens with battlemented walls and yew hedges as well as planting the now massive cedar trees. Local Inns: Saracens Head, Wolterton Walpole Arms, Itteringham Buckinghamshire Arms, Blickling Accomodation: Sheringham Hotel, Wolterton Restaurants: Aylsham, Holt Village/Town/Sightseeing: