Restoring the glory of
When landscape architect, Richard Woods, stood on Cannon Hall’s south front terrace in the 1760s proudly admiring the fruits of his labour, he would have no doubt marvelled at the encompassing sloping lawns, the floral embellished pleasure grounds and the ornate kitchen gardens that he had masterfully created for John Spencer.
Now, over 250 years later, Woods’ Georgian vision and vistas are being brought back to life thanks to a £3million grant which will fund the restoration and conservation of Cannon Hall’s 76 acres of parklands.
As part of the Parks for People project, a combined initiative by Big Lottery and the Heritage Lottery Fund, Cannon Hall Museum has secured £2,925,200 to revitalise and rejuvenate their historic park for the benefit of the wider community. Further funding has been made available from Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and the Country Houses Foundation, plus £40,000 which was raised by Friends of Cannon Hall, making a total budget of £3.4 million.
Restoring the Glory; Revealing the Secrets is a three year project which began last February and is being overseen by project manager, Sharon Sutton. The project focuses on improving five interlinking areas of development in the hope that the regeneration will enhance enjoyment and appreciation to entice more people to use the Cawthorne site. To enable the park to remain open to visitors throughout the project, work will be undertaken in stages, rather than all at once, with
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just a few restricted areas at each phase.
The Lakes
One year on, and following extensive planning and public consultation, the diggers are out and work has recently begun on the first of the five areas; restoring the lakes to their former grandeur. Following a long running local campaign, work is now underway to dredge the lakes. Along with improving water quality to encourage more aquatic habitats, silt removed from the lakes will be spread on to the surrounding grounds to help nourish the soil. Trees around the lakes will be removed to re-establish the banks and the surrounding areas will be muddy for a few months until work is completed in early summer.
Cannon Hall parklands
However, once finished, visitors will be able to take part in Georgian pastimes, such as boating and fishing, and see the serene beauty of these forgotten lakes.
The Parklands Following on from the de-silting of the lakes, the team will move on to cultivating the 18th Century landscapes that surround the Hall. If you’ve walked around the front lawns in recent years you may have noticed it is often boggy in places, even on dry summer days. Having been first developed during the Georgian era, much of the original drainage has become blocked or collapsed, causing springs of water to pop up across the grounds. As part of the restoration project, sections of the vast grounds will be drained to enable regular use all year round and long term management will see less mowing to let grass grow and reduce barren areas. A new pushchair and wheelchair friendly path will be laid around the edge of the park; starting from the car park, this will work its way around the front of the Hall to the Fairyland gardens, before passing back down to the lakes.
Overgrown vegetation will be removed to clear the vista and open up the perspective heading down towards the currently hidden lakes. However, the project combines style with substance. Not all dead trees will be felled - as originally suggested by developers - as the project team recognise that the bugs and critters living in the dead wood are vital to the eco system and food chain at Cannon Hall.
The Victorian Fairyland will be tidied up and paths re-laid to take visitors back to the days when ladies in bonnets, bustles and beehive skirts would have taken some air amongst the gothic pillars and arches. To encourage more families to visit the park, a new adventure trail and discovery area will be created in a currently under-utilised area by the deer shelter. Visitors big and small will have the chance to get their hands dirty through art, play and discovery, with activities such as den building, a mud kitchen and chainsaw sculpture demonstrations.
The Buildings
While the standout building in the park is of course the almighty Hall, restoration is planned for later in the summer to revive some of the lesser known structures that are well hidden within the grounds. Just metres away from the Hall
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