Lyme Park

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The south front of Lyme Park, Cheshire as rebuilt by Giacomo Leoni. The original Tudor mansion was transformed by Leoni into an Italian palazzo.

The north front of Lyme from Jones' Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen (1819)

Lyme Park is an estate and park in the county of Cheshire, England, near Disley. The principal feature of the park is Lyme Hall, an Elizabethan manor house resembling an Italian palazzo. Lyme was granted to the first Piers Legh and his wife Margaret by Richard II in 1398, as a reward for heroic deeds in battle, and in the 16th century the Leghs made Lyme their main home, possibly because the red deer around would have been a useful food source. Lyme was rebuilt on a major scale over the next 200 years, with the central classical frontispiece being added to the north range, and the south front being added by the architect Giacomo Leoni. During the 19th century the building was again restored, and was extensively altered by Lewis Wyatt; at this time the garden was created to more or less as what can be seen today. In the early 20th century Lyme had become empty, and by World War II the upkeep and maintenance had become too much, so in 1946 the 3rd Lord Newton gave Lyme and all the land to the National Trust in order to secure its future ^[1].

Lyme Hall became well known as the location for "Pemberley", the home of Mr. Darcy, in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (a connection it is exploiting to raise funds for a restoration [1]).

The parkland is a habitat for many Red Deer and Fallow Deer. Lyme has an unusual landmark, "The Cage": a lodge which served as a watchtower from which to follow the stag hunts.

In front of the house is a "mirror pool", an 18th-century landscape gardening feature, which is a small lake or pond perfectly reflecting the image of the principal facade. The garden features an orangery and a sunken Dutch garden.

1 History
2 Notes
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

After Lyme had been given to the Leghs in 1398, a house was built in about 1400, but it was little more than a hunting lodge. It was in the 16th century when Sir Piers VII made Lyme the family's main home, and it was him who extended and added the frontispiece to the north range, and probably rebuilt what is now the Entrance Hall and Drawing Room. The Long Gallery above, which runs the full length of the East range, was added by his grandson, Sir Peter IX, who also enclosed the park with a stone wall.