Lyme Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lyme Park |
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The south front, south lawn and pond
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| Location | Disley, Cheshire, England |
| OS grid reference | SJ 964 823 |
| Built | 16th century, 1720s |
| Architect | Giacomo Leoni Lewis Wyatt |
| Architectural style(s) | Elizabethan, Palladian, Baroque |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Designated | 17 November 1983 |
| Reference no. | 1231685 |
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Lyme Park is a huge country estate in Cheshire, England. It's looked after by the National Trust. The estate includes a grand mansion house, beautiful gardens, and a large deer park. It's located inside the Peak District National Park. The house is the biggest in Cheshire and is considered a very important historic building.
The land was first given to Sir Thomas Danyers in 1346. Later, it passed to the Legh family in 1388 through marriage. The Legh family owned Lyme Park for a very long time, until 1946. Then, they gave it to the National Trust. The main house was built in the late 1500s. An architect named Giacomo Leoni made big changes in the 1720s. He kept some of the old features but added new ones, especially the courtyard and the south side. Later, in the 1800s, Lewis Wyatt changed the inside of the house. The beautiful gardens were created and improved in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today, Lyme Park is open to visitors and has even been used for filming movies and TV shows. You can also see a very old printed book, the Lyme Caxton Missal, in the Library.
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History of Lyme Park
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The land where Lyme Park stands was given to Piers Legh and his wife Margaret D'anyers in 1398. This gift came from King Richard II. Margaret's grandfather, Sir Thomas D'anyers, was rewarded for his bravery in a battle in 1346. He helped save the flag of the Black Prince. Sir Thomas received money every year, which his granddaughter Margaret later traded for the land of Lyme Handley.
Piers Legh was executed in 1400 by Henry Bolingbroke, who became King Henry IV.
The Famous Mastiffs
In 1415, Sir Piers Legh II was hurt in a famous battle called Agincourt. His loyal mastiff dog stood over him and protected him for many hours. This brave dog was brought back to Lyme Hall. It became the start of the famous Lyme Hall Mastiff dogs. These dogs were specially bred at the hall and were very important for creating the modern mastiff breed. Sadly, this special line of dogs died out around 1900.
Building and Changes
The first mention of a house here was in 1465. But that house was taken down to build the current one in the mid-1500s. The first house was L-shaped. More parts were added in the 1600s.
In the 1720s, an architect from Venice, Italy, named Giacomo Leoni, made big changes. He added a south side to the house, making it a square with a courtyard in the middle. He mixed old styles with new ones. Later, in the late 1700s, Piers Legh XIII bought much of the furniture you see in the house today.
However, the family faced money problems, and the house started to get old. In the early 1800s, Thomas Legh hired Lewis Wyatt to fix up the house. Wyatt worked on it from 1816 to 1822. He mainly changed the inside, redesigning almost every room. Later, in the late 1800s, William Legh, 1st Baron Newton, added stables and created the Dutch Garden. More garden changes happened in the early 1900s.
During World War II, the park was used as a storage area for military trucks. In 1946, Richard Legh, 3rd Baron Newton, gave Lyme Park to the National Trust.
The House
Outside the House
Lyme Park is the largest house in Cheshire. It measures about 58 meters long and 40 meters wide, built around a central courtyard. The older parts are made of rough sandstone, and newer parts use smoother sandstone. The roof is made of Welsh slates.
The north side of the house has 15 sections and three floors. The middle part sticks out a little and has a grand arched doorway. Above the doorway are many columns and a triangular top with a statue of Minerva, a Roman goddess. The ends of this side also stick out slightly.
The south side of the house, which faces the lake, was designed by Leoni. It also has 15 sections and three floors. The bottom floor has arched windows. The middle three sections have a large porch with four tall columns. These columns hold up a triangular top with three lead statues: Neptune (god of the sea), Venus (goddess of love), and Pan (god of the wild).
The east side of the house has nine sections and three floors. It mostly looks like it did in the Elizabethan era. The courtyard in the middle was also changed by Leoni. It has covered walkways with arches all around. In the center of the courtyard is a beautiful Italian stone well, made to look like pink and white marble.
Inside the House
The Entrance Hall is in the east part of the house and was redesigned by Leoni. It has tall columns and a screen of three fluted columns. There's a hidden opening in the wall that lets you peek into the hall. The hall also has large woven pictures called tapestries. These were made a long time ago, between 1623 and 1636. They were moved to Lyme in 1903.
To the south of the Entrance Hall is the Library. To the east is Wyatt's Dining Room. This room has a fancy plaster ceiling and a carved decoration above the fireplace.
To the north of the Entrance Hall are two important Elizabethan rooms: the Drawing Room and the Stag Parlour. The Drawing Room has wooden panels and a fancy ceiling. Above the fireplace is a large stone carving with figures and the royal symbol of Queen Elizabeth I. This room also has old stained glass. The Stag Parlour has a fireplace carving that shows an Elizabethan house and hunting scenes. It also includes the symbol of King James I.
Other Elizabethan rooms include the Stone Parlour on the ground floor and the Long Gallery, which is on the top floor of the east side. The Long Gallery also has a fireplace with Queen Elizabeth I's symbol.
The Grand Staircase was added by Leoni and has a fancy ceiling. The Saloon is on the first floor of the south side, behind the large porch. Its ceiling is decorated in a fancy style called rococo. This room also has detailed wooden carvings. The Chapel, in the northeast corner of the ground floor, also has beautiful carvings.
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Entrance hall
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Tapestries in entrance hall
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Drawing room fireplace
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The Long Gallery
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The Saloon
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The Dining Room
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The Chapel
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The Bright Gallery
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The Yellow Bedroom
The Lyme Caxton Missal
This special book, called a missal, has been owned by the Legh family since at least 1508. It is the only almost complete copy of a very early prayer book that still exists. When the family moved out of the house in 1946, the book went with them for safekeeping. Later, the National Trust bought it and decided to bring it back to Lyme Park. To celebrate, the Library where it is displayed was restored to look like it did in the 1800s.
The Grounds
The house is surrounded by formal gardens that cover about 6 hectares (15 acres). These gardens are part of a much larger deer park, which is about 550 hectares (1,360 acres). Both the gardens and the deer park are listed as important historic sites. There are also several interesting buildings in the park.
Gardens
To the west of the house is an old mill pond. On the south side, a lawn slopes down to another pond. Beyond that is a small valley with a stone bridge, known as Killtime. To the west of the lawn is the sunken Dutch Garden. This garden was created by William Legh. It has neat flower beds and a fountain in the middle. Around the orangery, there are more formal flower gardens, including beautiful rose gardens.
Deer Park and Animals
The park was first fenced off in the 1300s by Piers Legh I. In the 1600s, Richard Legh planted rows of sycamore and lime trees. Richard's son, Peter Legh XII, planted even more trees, giving the park its look today.
You can still see Red deer in the park. They are descendants of the original deer that lived there when the park was first enclosed. You might also spot Highland cattle. In the past, there was a rare type of wild white cattle with red ears, but they died out in 1884. Sheep also graze in the park. Two long walking paths, the Gritstone Trail and the Peak District Boundary Walk, go through the park.
Buildings in the Park
One of the most noticeable buildings in the park, besides the main house, is a tower called the Cage. It stands on a hill to the east of the road leading to the house. It was first built around 1580 as a hunting lodge. Later, it was used as a park-keeper's home and even a small jail. The current tower was rebuilt in 1737. It's a square, three-story building with small towers at each corner. The Cage is also a very important listed building.
Another building is the Paddock Cottage, which was built by Peter Legh IX and fixed up recently. To the east are the remains of the Stag House. In Lantern Wood, to the left of the house, is a viewing tower called the Lantern. It's made of sandstone and has three stories and a spire. The top part of the Lantern was originally on the north gatehouse of the main house. It was moved and rebuilt here in the 1800s.
Right next to the house, to the northeast, is the Orangery. This building was designed in 1862. It's connected to the house by a covered walkway called the Dark Passage. Further away, to the northeast of the orangery, are the stables. These were built in 1863 and are also important listed buildings.
Other listed buildings in the grounds include:
- The Pheasant House (around 1870)
- An Italian white marble wellhead in the courtyard (from the 1700s, brought to Lyme around 1900)
- Sandstone kennels for dogs (around 1870)
- Two gardener's cottages (1871)
- Stone walls to the west of the house
- The lodge, gate pillars, and gates on Lyme Park Drive
- Other gate pillars in Red Lane and to the north of the house.
Looking After Lyme Park
Lyme Park is owned and managed by the National Trust. The house, gardens, and park are open to the public during certain hours. There is a fee to enter for people who are not National Trust members. In the grounds, you can find shops, a snack kiosk, a coffee shop, and a restaurant. The special Lyme Caxton Missal book is on display in the saloon. The park also hosts different events. The Bowmen of Lyme use the park for archery.
In August 2019, the park had severe flooding and had to be closed. Staff tried to save old items, but a large part of the garden was washed away.
Lyme Park in Movies and TV
Lyme Park and its house have been used in several films and television shows.
- The outside of the house was used as Pemberley, Mr. Darcy's home, in the 1995 BBC TV show Pride and Prejudice.
- It was also used in the Red Dwarf episode "Timeslides".
- The park was a location for the 2011 film The Awakening.
- It appeared in the second series of The Village in 2014.
See also
In Spanish: Lyme Park para niños
- Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire
- Listed buildings in Lyme Handley
