East Northants attraction ‘one of the wonders of the Midlands’

A visitor attraction in East Northants has been named one of the best man-made landscapes in the region.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Mar 2019, 08:20 BST
Updated 6th Mar 2019, 08:25 BST
The Water Garden with the building beyond at Lyveden New Bield, Northamptonshire. The garden lodge and garden were created between 1595 and 1605 when the owner Sir Thomas Tresham died.The Water Garden with the building beyond at Lyveden New Bield, Northamptonshire. The garden lodge and garden were created between 1595 and 1605 when the owner Sir Thomas Tresham died.
The Water Garden with the building beyond at Lyveden New Bield, Northamptonshire. The garden lodge and garden were created between 1595 and 1605 when the owner Sir Thomas Tresham died.

National Trust Midlands has revealed its list of the top unnatural wonders of the Midlands, and Lyveden near Brigstock has made the top seven.

The landscape design was dreamt up by Elizabethan Sir Thomas Tresham Tresham and included a labyrinth, moat and pleasure grounds.

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Although it was never completed following his death in 1605, the landscape remains virtually untouched.

Every element of Lyveden is designed to symbolically convey Tresham’s own spiritual journey as he struggled to reconcile his faith with the changing Elizabethan world.

Ian Cooper, general manager at Lyveden, said: “We’re not surprised to see Lyveden has made the list of the top seven unnatural wonders.

“With its stand out moat and elaborately designed water garden, it’s easy to imagine people from the 17th century enjoying it just as we do today.

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“People often assume the environments in our care look after themselves, but in fact a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to restore and preserve these man-made designs to appear exactly as they were intended.”

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The conservation charity aims to celebrate and highlight just how much work goes into restoring and maintaining the carefully crafted designs from eras gone by, which were designed specifically for onlooker’s viewing pleasure.

Other properties featured on the list are: Croft Castle in Herefordshire, Croome in Worcestershire, Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, Attingham Park in Shropshire, Shugborough in Staffordshire and Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire.

National Trust Midlands looks after homes, gardens, and countryside across the region, and puts a lot of work into restoring and maintaining areas to appear as they did when they were first created.

Its key project for 2019 focuses on the revival of the 18th century Fishpool Valley in Herefordshire to its former picturesque style.