Tatton Park

On the long drive south from Penrith the other week, we decided to have a break from the traffic for a while and left the motor way just past Manchester and paid a visit to Tatton Park which is owned by the National Trust, but is financed, administered and maintained by Cheshire County Council.


Tatton Hall 

There are in fact a great many attractions at Tatton apart from the house and gardens. As we had only a few hours at our disposal we limited ourselves, after finding some lunch, to just the gardens, and then the house. The Georgian Mansion has sumptuously decorated staterooms and family rooms. Tatton Hall houses collections of Willow furniture, Baccarat glass, paintings by Italian and Dutch masters, Egerton family memorabilia, and porcelain.

Tatton's gardens feature several rare species of plants, shrubs and trees, including rhododendrons, bamboo and pines - the results of 200 years of collection by the Egerton family. There is an 18th centuary Orangery and Fernery comprising part of a collection of the finest glass houses in England. The Fernery was designed in the late 1850's by Joseph Paxton and provided Lord Egerton with a showcase for his collection of Australian and New Zealand Tree Ferns, which is now of national significance. There are Italian and Rose gardens as well as Tatton's unique Japanese garden.


The Japanese Garden 


Statuary in the Japanese Garden 


Bridge in Japanese Garden 


Tatton is famous for its rhododendrons, and if you like showy plants, you will find plenty here. 


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This was taken in one of the hot houses, but I have to confess to not remembering the plant's name.