Wynyard Park

The following is from the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. For the most up-to-date Register entry, please visit The National Heritage List for England (NHLE):

Garden, pleasure grounds, and a park of early to mid 19th century date. The grounds were laid out for the third Marquis of Londonderry, possibly by William Sawrey Gilpin.

Location, Area, Boundaries, Landform and Setting

Park lies about 4 kilometres north of Stockton-on-Tees in a rural and agricultural setting. The site, which occupies about 308 hectares, spans the valley of the Brierly Beck which runs approximately east to west across the centre of the site. The boundaries are formed by a mixture of fences and walls which divide the site from agricultural land except on the north-east side where fences divide the site from a 1990s housing development.

Entrances and Approaches

The principal entrance to the site is from Wynyard Road on the south side of the site, where a pair of early to mid 19th century lodges flank gates called the Golden Gates (lodges and gates probably by Benjamin Wyatt, Listed Grade II). A drive leads north giving views of the Hall and lake through clumps of trees. These seem to be the remnants of a series of clumps alongside the drive shown on the 1856 Ordnance Survey map which were designed to control views as the Hall was approached. Prominent in views from this approach is a monument (Listed Grade II*) about 400 metres south-east of the Hall, in the form of an high obelisk about 40 metres high which was erected to commemorate a visit by the Duke of Wellington in 1827. The drive crosses the northern end of the lake via Lion Bridge (Benjamin Wyatt early-mid 19th century, Listed Grade II*) and continues to the east side of the Hall. There are a number of other entrances from Wynyard Lane and from the A689 on the north side of the site.

Principal Building

Wynyard Hall (Listed Grade II*) is a large classical mansion lying near the centre of its park on a platform within the angle of a Y-shaped lake. It was built on or near the site of an earlier house. The building was erected 1822-1888 and the design is attributed either to Benjamin Wyatt (c 1775-1850) or to his older brother Philip Wyatt, but accounts differ and it is possible that the men worked together on the project (EH report). The building was badly damaged by fire in 1841 and rebuilt, possibly to the original design, in the years which followed.

Gardens and Pleasure Grounds

The pleasure grounds lie within an area defined by the angle formed by the Y-shaped lake. The west and south sides of the Hall are fronted by a terraced walk from which lawns slope down to the edge of the lake. The east, entrance front looks out over a forecourt and informal lawns planted with clumps of trees. Lawns with scattered trees stretch northwards as far as a drive called the Racecourse, and paths lead through them to the walled kitchen gardens. A path runs through woodland alongside the Brierley Beck which feeds the lake to the west of the Hall. Here there are mid 19th century classical temples (both Listed Grade II), one in Greek style about 450 metres north-west of the Hall and another in Roman style about 50 metres west of the first; these were probably designed by Philip or Benjamin Wyatt. The 1856 Ordnance Survey map shows that the paths are survivors of a more complex system of winding routes which ran through wooded pleasure grounds on the north and north-west sides of the main building. A number of structures described as pillars and summerhouses on this map are shown disposed about the pleasure grounds but these have disappeared.

Kitchen Garden

A walled kitchen garden lies on the north-west edge of the pleasure grounds about 500 metres north-west of the Hall. The garden is shown on the 1856 Ordnance Survey map when part of it was planted as an orchard. It was described in 1889 when special mention was made of the apple and pear trees (Journal of the Horticultural and Cottage Gardener 1889). Another walled enclosure, about 300 metres north-west of the Hall, was laid out as an Italianate garden probably in the late 19th or early 20th century. 19th century photographs (reproduced in EH report) show scroll-shaped beds and rows of urns on pedestals, though little trace of these now survives. An account published in 1889 (JHCG) describes this as a flower garden with beds of `large and simple design' which suggests that the elaborate beds of the photographs were laid out after this date.

Park

The park consists of a mixture of open grassland with scattered trees around the core where the Hall and lake are sited, but it is now (2000) in arable cultivation beyond. The centrepiece of the park is the Y-shaped lake with arms extending on each side of the Hall and pleasure grounds and a sinuous stem which extends for about 400 metres south of the building. The east side of the lake is sheltered by a belt of trees, and woodland hugs the long western arm of the Y, much as shown on the 1856 Ordnance Survey map. Woodland called Horse Shoe Plantation on the north side of the Hall provides a backcloth for views from the south. An informal circular area of open parkland to the south-west of the Hall and lake is defined by blocks of woodland and shelter belts. The area north of the pleasure grounds and the wooded sides of Brierley Beck is open grassland and fields with a few scattered clumps of trees which conform with clumps shown on the 1856 Ordnance Survey map.

On the east side of the lake the scene is dominated by the Wellington monument (see above). Some of the scattered trees in this part of the park are probably the remnants of informal clumps shown on the 1856 Ordnance Survey map. A large tree-encircled pond called Swancar Pond lies about 500 metres east of the Hall; it is shown on the 1856 Ordnance Survey map.

The park was probably laid out in its present form when the Hall was being erected in the early 19th century. The site was described in 1600 as `beautifully adorned with woods and groves' (EH report). J C Loudon described it in 1822 as `an elegant residence combining hospitable comforts, and an attractive mixture of varied grounds, woods and waters' (quoted in EH report). An account published in about 1823 states that the grounds were 'receiving substantial improvements from drainage' and mentions the lake and Lion Bridge. The landscaping has been attributed to William Sawrey Gilpin (1762-1843) (EH report) but there does not seem to be any primary evidence to link him to the site.

Maps

• OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1856

Description written: March 2000

Amended: April 2000

Edited: November 2004