Graythwaite Hall, near

Hawkshead Hawkshead is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, which attracts tourists to the South Lakeland area. The parish includes the hamlets of Hawkshead Hill, to the north west, and Outgate, a similar distance north. Hawkshead contains on ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

in the Lake District of England is the home of the Sandys family. One of the more famous members of the family was Edwin Sandys, who was

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers ...

(1576–88) and was founder of

Hawkshead Grammar School Hawkshead Grammar School in Hawkshead, Cumbria, England was founded in 1585 by Archbishop Edwin Sandys, of York, who petitioned a charter from Queen Elizabeth I to set up a governing body. The early School taught Latin, Greek and sciences, inclu ...

which

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's '' ...

attended. The hall dates from the 17th century and extension work was carried out in the 18th century. In the 19th century some major refacing gave the hall a Gothic Revival or Tudor Revival appearance.

Grounds

The house is surrounded by of gardens laid out by Thomas Hayton Mawson from 1886 for Colonel

Thomas Sandys Thomas Sandys may refer to: * Thomas Sandys, 2nd Baron Sandys (died 1560), English peer * Thomas Sandys (Gatton MP) (1600–1658), English MP * Thomas Sandys (merchant) (fl. 1682-1684), English merchant * Thomas Sandys (Conservative politician) ...

. The importance of the commission in Mawson's development as a

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...

has been discussed by garden historians, and was acknowledged by Mawson himself in his book ''The Art and Craft of Garden Making'' (1900). The gardens are set in a wooded valley. An

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, m ...

contains some fine trees. The woods surrounding the estate were a favourite walking spot for

, and were the backdrop for

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was ...

's story '' '

The Fairy Caravan ''The Fairy Caravan'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter and first published in 1929 by Alexander McKay in Philadelphia. As noted by Leslie Linder, "Potter did not wish for an English edition of ''The Fairy Caravan ...

' ''. The ornamental iron gates at the entrance to the formal gardens were designed by

Dan Gibson Dan Gibson (January 19, 1922 in Montreal – March 18, 2006) was a Canadian photographer, cinematographer and sound recordist. During the late 1940s, Dan Gibson took photographs and made nature films, including ''Audubon Wildlife Theatre''. Gibs ...

, a local architect. Gibson went on to collaborate with Mawson on other projects such as

Brockhole The Brockhole Lake District Visitor Centre, also known as the Brockhole National Park Visitor Centre, is a visitor centre and tourist attraction managed by the Lake District National Park Authority. It is situated on the shore of Lake Windermere ...

and Hanley Park.

Conservation and access

The Hall is one of a number of listed buildings in the area (see Listed buildings in Satterthwaite). It was listed

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ire ...

in 1970. Graythwaite is designated Grade II* in the

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

. The grounds were listed in 2020. The gardens within the grounds are open to the public from early April until mid August,Leaflet "Graythwaite Hall Gardens" published by Graythwaite Estates However, the hall is closed to the public. The gardens are probably best viewed in late spring when the rhododendrons and azaleas are in bloom. However, the

Dutch garden Dutch garden refers firstly to gardens in the Netherlands, but also, mainly in the English-speaking countries, to various types of gardens traditionally considered to be in a Dutch style, a presumption that has been much disputed by garden historia ...

and the former

rose garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...

(Mawson's design for the latter has been altered) add interest in other seasons.

References

Cited sources

''Books'' * * ''Online sources'' * *

External links

Graythwaite Hall website
{{coord, 54.314, -2.968, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Country houses in Cumbria Grade II listed buildings in Cumbria Arts and Crafts gardens Gardens by Thomas Hayton Mawson Rose gardens in Cumbria Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Cumbria