Tatton Park

This historic estate is less than an hour away and yet it's taken us two years to visit. Well-known as the venue for the Royal Horticultural Society's Flower Show in July, Tatton Park boasts an early 19th-century Wyatt manor house surrounded by gardens, a landscaped deer park, the Tudor Old Hall, a working 1930s farm and, on the day we visited, a carousel to tempt the kiddies.

The property was owned by the Egerton family from the late sixteenth century until 1958 when Maurice Egerton died without heirs and bequeathed the house and gardens to the National Trust. In 1960 the National Trust leased the property to the Cheshire County Council which maintains the estate. We centred our first visit on the house and gardens.

The house is a beautiful setting in which to showcase the Egertons' collections of pictures, books, china, glass, silver, and specially commissioned Gillow furniture. Particularly impressive are the staircase hall and landing, a harmonious blend of Samuel and Lewis Wyatt's work. Samuel completed the first stage of his Grand Design for William Egerton by 1791. Seventeen years later, after his uncle's death, Lewis Wyatt scaled down the plans to complete the present mansion. Had either he or his uncle completed the proposed Grand Design, the hall might have been twice as long with a second cantilever staircase at the opposite end. As it stands, the hall appears spacious with its domed skylight and marble pillars.

Tatton Hall gives an interesting glimpse of life below stairs, and its two great innovations, the coal lift and the charcoal-heated tin bath in the Silk Dressing Room, apparently viewed and subsequently purchased at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, eased the burden of servants as much as they proved a luxury to the Egertons and their guests.

The 50-acre gardens are rated among the best in the country and include a Japanese Garden, Italian Garden, Topiary, Maze, Rose Garden, and walled Kitchen Garden.

Date of Our Last Visit: March 2004