History & Heritage
in and around Greater Manchester

Renaissance & Paladian Country Houses in North West England

Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6QN.
Tel: 01565 654822. Info Line: 01565 750250.

Tatton park and hall are probably one of the most visited properties of the National Trust, with there being so much to see and do that a lot of families make a weekend of it. Tatton Park covers an area of almost 5 square miles, Tatton Mere itself is a mile long. The park has a vast herd of deer - 500 Fallow deer and 200 red deer. The Italian style garden, immediately in front of the Hall, are best viewed at the end of May and the beginning of June. Also well worth a visit is the Golden Brook Pool, an unforgettably beautiful and tranquil sight, including an island on which stands a Shintu temple, brought and erected by Japanese workmen who also laid out an ornamental Japanese water garden (see photo right) and tea house, The gardens have to be rated one of the best in England, and also include a large Arboretum with many varieties of rare imported trees and shrubs.

TATTON HALL
William Egerton starting building the present mansion in 1790 to replace an original brick building. The Hall contains many beautiful rooms, including the Music and Drawing rooms which are in red and gold with fabulous chandeliers on a very grand scale. The Library is bigger than many found as public buildings. Between the 16th and 20th centuries the Egertons collected over 12,000 books. Maurice Egerton was a widely travelled huntsman who collected a great many trophy heads of his victims which can be seen in the Tenants Hall. Maurice Egerton bequeathed Tatton to the National Trust so that it would continue to be maintained after his death - he died in 1958.

LOCATION
Situated 3½miles from M56 motorway Junction 7½ miles from the M6 motorway, junction 19. Located 3½ miles north of Knutsford, 4 miles south of Altrincham. Well signposted. Buses from Altrincham interchange direct to Hall on Sundays only. Nearest mainline train station : Knutsford - 2 miles away.

OPENING
Please check - times may have changed.
Closed on Mondays except Bank Holidays.
Old Hall: open Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays - check before visiting.
Park: April-Sept 10.30am-6.00pm. Oct-March weekends only 11.00am-5.00pm.
Gardens: April-Sept 10.30am-5.00pm. Oct-March weekends only 11.00am-4.00pm.
Mansion & Farm: open all year round. From 25th October-March from 12.noon-4.00pm, weekends only. Farm open Sundays only 11.30am-4.00pm.

FACILITIES:
Licensed restaurant, toilets, disabled access (see cashier), shop, garden centre, walking and fishing. Braille Guide available at Garden Centre. Adventure playground. Rest room available for nursing mothers. Special school half-term opening. Dogs allowed on lead at Home Farm and parkland (not allowed in Gardens). Car Parking is charged, but free to National Trust Members.

Tatton Hall - the South facade

The ornamental Japanese garden

Books about Tatton Park

Lyme Hall & Park

Disley, near Stockport, Cheshire SK12 2NX
Tel: 01663 762023. Fax: 01663 765035.
Telephone Information Line: 01663 766492.
Email: mlypjs@smtp.ntrust.org.uk
Lyme Hall is part sixteenth, part seventeenth, and part eighteenth century and is the largest house in Cheshire. The grandeur of the interior includes ceiling paintings by Leoni, a substantial collection of English clocks, priceless Mortlake tapestries, as well as plaster casts of Greek friezes showing battle scenes, brought here by Thomas Legh, and Grinling Gibbon's woodcarvings. Impressive gardens and parkland which hosts red and fallow deer, as well as a sunken "Dutch" formal garden and lake.
The surrounding parkland is nearly 1400 acres and gives good views of the Pennine Hills and the Cheshire Plain. The estate has an Orangery built by Wyatt. Lyme Park was the family home of the Leghs for 600 years, until it was taken over in 1946 to be owned by the National trust and part-financed by Stockport Borough Council.

LYME PARK
The surrounding parkland is occupied by herds of free-roaming deer, in a near perfect ideal setting, whose naturalism is interrupted only by the long winding road of over a mile up to the hall.
The gardens are designed in the Dutch style, and well worth a stroll around as they are both bracing and beautiful, overlooked by moorland at the back which rises to around 1200ft, and which are used by many hikers and lovers of the country side.
Thomas Legh had helped with the excavation of the temple of Apollo at Bassae where a frieze was found dating back to 420 BC.

LOCATION
Located at Disley on the A6 about 6 miles SE of Stockport, 9½ miles NW of Buxton. Buses from Stockport Centre and from New Mills to estate entrance, and direct to the Hall on Sundays. Mainline train station nearby at Disley (about ½ mile away on foot).

OPENING
(Please check - dates and times might change)
Park: April to October daily from 8.30am till 8.30pm. November to March daily from 8.00am till 6.00pm.
House: End of March to end of October, Friday to Tuesday from 1.00pm to 5.00pm, Bank Holidays from 11.00am till 5.00pm. Closed Wednesday and Thursday.
Gardens: End of March to end of October Friday to Tuesday from 11.00am to 5.00pm; Wednesday and Thursday from 1.00pm-5.00pm.
The Cage: April to October on 2nd weekend every month from 12noon till 4.00pm.
Paddock Cottage: April to October 3rd weekend each month from 12noon to 4.00pm.

ADMISSION
Admission to Parkland free to pedestrians, cars pay to enter (currently about £3.50 - free to National Trust Members). To Hall & Gardens costs about £5.50, Family Tickets per car: £15.00 and Gardens only £2.50. (Prices may have changed - please check).

FACILITIES
Refreshments are available, with ample car parking and toilet facilities.
The Ale Cellar Restaurant: lunches and snacks available from end of March to end of October - last serving 2.30pm.
Old Workshop Tea Room: Open from end of March to end of October daily from 11.00am to 5.00pm, and from November to March on Saturday and Sunday only from 12 noon to 4.00pm.
Car Park Kiosk: ice cream, information and light refreshments are available at the kiosk.
Gift Shops: the Hall Shop sells a wide range of gifts and is located in the courtyard at the house.
The Park Shop which is opposite the Old Workshop Tea Room also sells gifts and National Trust items.
Disabled Visitors: extensive access for the disabled to parts of the hall and gardens is available - try to give advance notice first. Wheelchairs available. Braille and large print guides available.
Guided Tours - telephone for details.
Miscellaneous: high chairs available for infants in tea room. Children's playground. No dogs in house or garden, but welcomed in parkland if under close control. Extensive walking possibilities. Lavatories: located at the Old Workshop Tea Room, at the Ale Cellar Restaurant in the House and in the Gardens.

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