The Gardens

The Gardens

We are certain that there’s been a garden at Grimsthorpe since the early 1500s and maybe even before that.

They have evolved over the years and there are still subtle changes taking place. The gardens never appear crowded and there are plenty of quiet corners where you can relax. There are also huge expanses of lawn where younger visitors can let off steam and have fun.

The gardens surrounding an historic house are great places to visit. They usually have a relaxed and tranquil feel to them and somebody else does all the work to keep them looking good! At Grimsthorpe there is a long history of gardening, which continues to this day with fresh planting ideas that provide something to enjoy whenever you visit.

Intricate parterres marked with box hedges lie close to the Castle, and a dramatic herbaceous border frames views across the lake.

The photograph above shows how the lawns were cut before the introduction of small petrol engines. The horse would have worn leather slippers to ensure that no hoof marks were made on the newly mown grass.

There are no records left of the Tudor gardens, but a housekeeper’s book from the 1560s does mention payments made to part time female gardeners, called in to weed the ‘inner courts’. Early indications of how the gardens looked comes from a painting of c1700.

Visiting the Gardens

The gardens open at 10am on standard open days. Once you have purchased a park ticket you will have access to the park and gardens.

The kitchen garden is a favourite spot for many of our regular visitors. Tranquil and sheltered, it’s a great place to sit and read a book.

We do request that dogs are not taken into the formal gardens and that cyclists leave their bikes at the garden entrance.