We'd visited Elvaston Castle Country Park on a couple of occasions in the last few years but this time we hadn't intended to visit at all. Somehow we got ourselves onto the wrong road when trying to find and photograph churches at Allestree and Spondon in Derby. The photography as I think I've mentioned in earlier posts is for Paul's family history website. We'd taken some photographs of Allestree church and the traffic at the Little Eaton roundabout was horrendous due to roadworks so after we'd taken the wrong turning for Spondon we didn't want to go back towards Kedleston Hall which is where we had intended stopping for a picnic and a walk. When we saw the signs for Elvaston we revised our plans as we knew we could eventually get round to Spondon via Ockbrook and Borrowash.
I'm really glad that we did revise our plans because even though we'd visited twice before we'd never ventured further than the walk up to the castle and the courtyard and shop. This time we walked around the lake and around the churchyard as well as discovering the wonderful parterre and topiary gardens.
At
the centre of Elvaston Castle Country Park is of course the Castle which
was rebuilt in the early 19th century in the Gothic revival style for
its then owner the third Earl of Harrington. There is a cafe in one of the rooms in the castle which is now owned by Derbyshire County Council but the rest of the building is closed except for a couple of times a year when the Gothic Hall only is open. The first of these happened just a few days before our visit but I'd love to go back again to find out more.
The third Earl's son Charles Stanhope, Viscount Petersham was a noted
Regency Buck and Dandy who was a crony of the Prince Regent. In his later years he met and fell in love with Maria Foote a successful actress who was also quite notorious for her involvement in a 'breach of promise' trial.
It is said that the 4th Earl of Harrington, as Viscount Petersham later became, created the gardens, which were designed by William Barron, as a love token for his beautiful actress wife who loved the glamour and theatricality of it all.
The church of St Bartholomew is sited close to the castle or mansion house. The churchyard was a sea of snowdrops and there were some fascinating grave stones. Unfortunately the church was closed so we couldn't look inside but it is the parish church for the villages of Elvaston, Thulston and Ambaston.
There is a nice walk around the lake which is surrounded on one side by 'mock' rock and cave follies made from Tufa which is a variety of limestone found mostly around nearby Matlock and Cromford. There is still a lot more to go back and discover - the old English walled garden, heritage orchard, heronry, nature reserve and a longer walk down to the river Derwent.
I've recently downloaded a fairly newly written book about the story of the making of the Topiary Garden at Elvaston which I hope to read quite soon. It's called A Topiary Garden - The Actress, the Dandy and the Gardener. A Story of Elvaston Castle in the 1820s and written by Lynda Aylett-Green.
The church of St Bartholomew is sited close to the castle or mansion house. The churchyard was a sea of snowdrops and there were some fascinating grave stones. Unfortunately the church was closed so we couldn't look inside but it is the parish church for the villages of Elvaston, Thulston and Ambaston.
There is a nice walk around the lake which is surrounded on one side by 'mock' rock and cave follies made from Tufa which is a variety of limestone found mostly around nearby Matlock and Cromford. There is still a lot more to go back and discover - the old English walled garden, heritage orchard, heronry, nature reserve and a longer walk down to the river Derwent.
It looks a very interesting place with so much to see. Many of these regency aristocrats had such colourful lives thanks to their leisure and money. But it fascinating reading about all the scandal! It is a shame about the church being closed but the snowdrops in the churchyard look beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI look at some photos of the inside of the church and it looks quite interesting perhaps next time we visit it will be open. The snowdrops looked so beautiful against the grave stones and spread across the churchyard:)
DeleteIt looks as though you have found another interesting and beautiful place! You really do visit some lovely churches and buildings. Fascinating to read more about the history. xx
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy - I loved to find interesting paces to visit and photograph and am usually captivated by the history of these places too:)
DeleteThat wrong turning was a blessing in disguise then - and to think there is still more to go back and see! The woodcarving is beautiful. x
ReplyDeleteThe bear carving is lovely isn't it? We'd popped into the country park a couple of times before but never stopped long enough to explore - I want to go back and find the other things we missed last time and do the long walk:)
DeleteThe castle looks like an interesting building, it's a shame the council don't open it more often. What do they use it for? The gardens and lake look lovely though.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to find out what the building is or was used for and it seems that the council bought it mainly for the grounds to provide a green space close to the city. It has been a teacher training college and apparently there was a small museum there until the foot and mouth disease closed the whole park and the museum never opened again. There is talk of a hotel but at the moment the place is empty except for the room used as a cafe and the Gothic hall opening a few times a year:)
DeleteSounds like the walls would have plenty to say if they could speak! It looks a lovely, interesting place in a pretty setting, with the lake.
ReplyDeleteIt was very busy with families when we visited as it was half term but there is such a lot of space and lots of things to do. the lakeside was very pretty and the children loved the tufa rocks to clamber over and hide in:)
DeleteThat's very close to where we live (five or six miles away) so we go a few times a year. I'll look out for that book.
ReplyDeleteYou must know the place well then, I found it fascinating. I've looked more closely at the book and it is in fact a novel! I though when I downloaded a copy it was about the gardens and how they were created. It is more about Maria Foote but I'll give it a go later it was only just over £2 on Kindle so not so much lost if I don't like it:)
DeleteIt's sad that the house isn't open more often as it looks very interesting, you certainly do have some wonderful places to visit near you. Do you know about the HHA? http://www.hha.org.uk/ We belong and really enjoy visiting the properties as they are all still privately owned and lived in. Thanks for a lovely post and thanks for tempting me with another book for my pile to "To read" You really do have similar taste in books to me.
ReplyDeleteI did know about the HHA - maybe we should think about joining. At the moment we are members of NT and our local gardens do a yearly pass which we make good use of. I've found out that the book is a novel and not a non fiction account of the creating of the gardens as I thought but I will give it a try - it wasn't too much to download:)
DeleteDave and I were going to go to an event here a few months ago, I think it was a woodland fair, but for some reason we didn't - I guess it was too wet and windy... I've had it on my list of places to visit since then, but had no idea there was that much to see/do there so I enjoyed this post and seeing bits of the place.
ReplyDeleteI think you would enjoy it, Louise although it gets very busy it is large enough to find a quiet area or two and there is lots to see. They do seem to have lots of events and a large event field near the car park:)
DeleteI hope to one day to visit all these places...but for now I will dream of them through your blog! Thank you for the history as well as the pictures.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting and leaving a comment - I'm glad you enjoyed this post and looking at my blog:)
DeleteWhat an unusual place! Your report on your visit made interesting reading, Thank you. MaryPx
ReplyDeleteIt is fascinating, Mary - glad you enjoyed reading my post:)
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