Painshill Park

Restoration

Painshill Park Trust was formed in 1981 to restore the park and gardens, and was granted a 99-year lease on the land that the borough council had acquired. Detailed botanical and archaeological surveys, as well as archive research, were undertaken to fully understand the layout of Hamilton's park and its subsequent development. The information gathered was used to prepare a restoration masterplan, published in early 1984. The intention of the trust was to have undertaken all major capital works by 1994 and for the restoration programme to have concluded within 15 years. The first project, the restoration of the Gothic Temple and the surrounding land, was completed in 1985. Much of the early work was undertaken by participants in a Manpower Services Commission scheme, students from Merrist Wood Agricultural College and volunteers, including a group from the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers. In June 1984, around 212 acres (86 ha) of Hamilton's original estate was designated a Grade I Park and Garden on the register of historic parks and gardens maintained by Historic England.