Description:Between 1834 and 1847 George Granville Sutherland Leveson-Gower (1786-1861), the second Duke of Sutherland, employed the architect Sir Charles Barry to transform Trentham Hall and Gardens. Barry’s Italianate style permeated both the house and grounds, filling the gardens with statues, fountains and small formal gardens.
The informal gardens were designed by the gardener George Fleming who produced a planting plan which was much admired by contemporaries.
Garden historian Sue Gregory suggests that the plan featured above is the most detailed for this period. Produced in the early 1850s, the plan shows the layout of Trentham Gardens during the middle of the nineteenth century.
Trentham Hall is featured in the centre of the plan with its terrace and gardens adjoining the lower flower gardens. The River Trent, workshops and the Kitchen Garden can be seen to the right of the Hall. The formal parterres which Sue Gregory describes can be seen on the plan, along with other Italianate features including fountains.
The Estate Offices are above the Hall on the plan, showing the stables, laundry and poultry yards. The cottage gardens can be seen on the right, adjoining the London road and the school houses. The Park is to the left of these buildings.
During the late nineteenth century, George Granville William Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1828-1892), the third Duke of Sutherland, reduced expenditure on the gardens. Much of Fleming’s work was removed and replaced with shrubbery and plants requiring lower maintenance than the hothouse plants favoured by Fleming. Despite Fleming’s efforts to divert the River Trent away from the Lake, pollution caused by sewage from the Potteries was disrupting life at Trentham during this period.
Contextual Information featured on pages relating to Trentham Gardens has been provided by Sue Gregory who has been instrumental in the research and selection of documents for this section. Sue has been part of the management team of Staffordshire Gardens & Parks Trust since its creation in 1992 and has over fourteen years of experience researching Trentham Gardens in the Sutherland Papers.