Biddulph Grange Garden is a Victorian garden that was created by James Bateman for his collection of plants from around the world.
The garden features collections of rhododendrons, summer bedding displays, a stunning Dahlia Walk in late summer and the oldest surviving golden larch in Britain, brought from China in the 1850s.
"The Grade 1 listed garden (
visit link) has been restored to its Victorian heyday using contemporary descriptions and plans supported by archaeological evidence - the aim being to restore it as closely as possible to James Bateman’s original vision. The main source of inspiration and guidance for the restoration is an 1862 description of the gardens by Edward Kemp. First published in the Gardeners Chronicle, it is the only detailed contemporary description of the garden and grounds.
The garden is laid out so that the visitor is led from one area to another in a journey of discovery and exploration. Each garden is separated by hedges, banks and rockwork. Paths, steps and tunnels lead from one to area to another, resulting in an intriguing journey of discovery, from Italy to the pyramids of Egypt, a Victorian vision of China and a re-creation of a Himalayan glen.
The Geological Gallery shows how Bateman's interests went beyond botany. Opened in 1862 the unique hallway is a Victorian attempt to reconcile geology and theology."
Source: (
visit link)
"30 years of the Batemans
James Bateman was here for 30 years from 1842, and built the house as an Italianate villa and the garden, with the help of his friend, the famous marine artist, Edward Cook.
In 1869 Bateman left the Grange and moved to London where he lived in a house rented from Edward Cooke close to Hyde Park. Bateman left his son John to sell the property, which by the time he left in 1872, had a mortgage of £30,000 which in today’s money is close to £2 million.
The Heath family take ownership
Robert Heath then bought the property and the Heath family lived here for close to 50 years. During their residency, the original house burnt down destroying the central part of the house and the surrounding glass houses and orangey. The middle section of the house is therefore an 1897 rebuild and bears no resemblance to the original house.
Medical history
The Heath family left in 1922 selling the house to the North Staffordshire Cripples Aid Society to use as a hospital. Within 3 years the Society could no longer afford it so it went to Lancashire County Council as a hospital.
They built wooden wards on the cherry orchard and later in the 1930s, knocked down the remaining glass houses and part of the geological gallery to build new wards and a ‘modern’ hospital complex during which time the house was used as nurses quarters.
Saved by campaigners
In the mid-1970s, the estate was saved when a campaign to have the area put under a conservation order was successful. The hospital (which had been children’s, orthopaedic and geriatric) closed by 1991 and the garden was opened in May that same year.
The house remained derelict until a developer bought it and converted it into 9 apartments. The 78 acres of woodland that was part of the Grange estate was taken up by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and is now the Biddulph Country Park." Source: (
visit link)
(
visit link)
(
visit link)