Description:One of the most intriguing documents relating to Trentham is the large notice featured above. This is the draft of a notice which was printed to provide information to people visiting Trentham Park in the late 1890s.
Dated 1896, the notice warns visitors ‘not to uproot flowers or plants of any kind’. Visitors were also warned against vandalising shrubbery, and were asked not to ‘cut letters in the bark’ of the trees.
Visitors were prohibited from leaving waste paper or broken glass on the grounds, and were warned to keep their dogs supervised and on leads at all times.
The instructions on the notice tell us how Trentham Park was used by the local community during the late nineteenth century. Visitors were allowed into the Park, and the notice suggests that they used the grounds for picnics and for walking their dogs. The notice warns people against picking flowers and carving initials into the bark of trees in the Park, suggesting that the grounds may have been a popular place for romantic walks.