Secret garden hidden for 300 years is unlocked by heatwave

A lost garden that has been hidden from view for 300 years has been revealed by the heatwave.

The ornate European-style garden at the Chatsworth estate in Derbyshire was designed in 1699 for the 1st Duke of Devonshire.

Featuring an intricate display of flower beds and paths the garden was created to provide a grand view from the then newly completed south side of the stately home.

Just 30 years later it was grassed over and replaced by the South Lawn but the remains of the garden still lie beneath a thin layer of soil and grass.

Now, the long pro-longed period of hot dry weather has led the thinner areas to parch quicker revealing the outline of the grand garden once more.

Steve Porter, head of gardens and landscape at Chatsworth, said while the heatwave had caused issues elsewhere on the estate, a silver lining was seeing the old garden, known as the Great Parterre revealed.

‘Every time you look you almost see more of the detail, more of the scrolls of the beds and more of the paths and it sort of brings it all back to life and you realise just how intricate and just how amazing it would have been,’ he said.

Steve told the BBC the ‘centrepiece’ garden was designed to be viewed from the house and was a way for the Duke to show off his wealth.

‘It was what everybody would have wanted to see, and it was pretty amazing,’ he added.

Steve said there were no plans to reinstate the garden in the future, despite requests from the public to do so, but the estate team would consider mowing the lawn at different heights to reveal the outline of garden or using gravel to the same effect.

‘Something that I find quite unique about Chatsworth is its ever-changing, ever-improving landscape and I think it’s quite nice that it’s got some hidden secrets as well.’

The Chatsworth Estate, located in the Peak District National Park, has been in the Devonshire family for 16 generations.

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