Parched lawn reveals historic garden at stately home

The recent hot weather has revealed the outline of a former 19th-Century parterre garden at a stately home in Derbyshire.

The lawns at Hardwick Hall, near Clay Cross, were created during a remodelling overseen by Blanche Howard, who moved into the hall in the 1800s and was the wife of the seventh Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish.

National Trust archaeologist Emily Eastwood said drier weather and a change in climate had meant the historic lawn patterns were now more prominent.

She added: "We do occasionally see them [lawn patterns], but with the heatwaves we've had recently, they are now more prominent than we've seen them in a long time."

The hall was home to Bess of Hardwick in the 16th Century, who rose to become one of the most powerful and wealthy women of her age.

Eastwood said Howard wanted to remodel the gardens and put in a "beautiful parterre", which she described as the "geometric planting of gorgeous flowers".

"The parch marks here at Hardwick have been creeping out over the last few weeks as the weather has got hotter and hotter and the ground has got drier," said Eastwood.

She said Bess of Hardwick's original garden in the West Court has been removed and relawned over the years but it has "left lasting changes to the ground beneath it".

"Visitors tend to love it, we get a lot of calls to bring it back when they realise they can see it from higher up - the garden was designed to be seen from the ground above and that's reflected in the parched marks we see today," Eastwood said.

The Great Parterre, beneath the south lawn at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, was also revealed by hot weather earlier this month.

That was designed in 1699 for the first Duke of Devonshire, to complement the newly completed south facade of the house.

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