The Park was enclosed for deer between 1492 and 1510. Henry Willoughby, an industrialist and coalowner, made Wollaton Old Hall the family’s main home.

In 1559, Henry’s great grandson, Francis Willoughby [1] became heir to the estates at the age of 12. In 1580, Sir Francis commissioned Robert Smythson as ‘architector’ to build a new family home at Wollaton – Sir Francis also owned another manor house at Middleton in Warwickshire and several townhouses. Smythson also laid out the gardens and it is thought that this unsigned and undated ground plan is probably by Smythson .  Sir Roy Strong describes the design as ‘unique for its period in its unity: the house, its outbuildings, courtyards and gardens were combined in a completely rigid four-way symmetry. Compared with any other sixteenth century garden, Wollaton was an enormous advance.’ To the front of the house is a sundial, estimated to be 35 feet in diameter – it would have been made of either stone, timber or possibly topiary.

Sir Francis married Elizabeth Littleton against the wishes of his sister Margaret, Lady Arundell. Rumours circulated about their marital problems but after separating for several years, the couple was reconciled in 1588, the year the house was finished. However, by the time of his death in 1596, Sir Francis had spent so much money on the house and various unsuccessful business ventures that his estate was in debt.

With no surviving male heirs, Wollaton was inherited by Sir Francis’s daughter Bridget and her husband and cousin, Percival Willoughby. It took several years before the couple was able to sort out the finances and refurnish the house. In 1618, they commissioned Robert Smythson’s son John to make further changes to the garden. A plan by Smythson (1618) shows the layout for a ‘New Orchard’ with a Mount at its centre based on the outline of the house – a remarkable concept. It is not certain whether this garden was ever constructed although in Cassandra Willoughby’s history of the family [see below], she mentions ‘the garden which formerly belonged to the house was (after the fashion of those times) but a little piece of ground in which was the plan of the house planted with box trees’. The mount-orchard was enclosed by a high brick wall with two rectangular pavilions at the outer corners. One of these pavilions can be seen in the later paintings by Jan Siberechts [see below]

Bridget and Percival’s son, Francis [2] succeeded his father but after the house was damaged by fire in 1642, he never returned to live at Wollaton.

Francis [3], a mathematician and natural historian, was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. He travelled widely with his tutor and colleague, the scientist John Ray – many of his drawings of birds, fish and flowers can be found in the Middleton archives.

Francis [4] was only 4 when his father died and his mother remarried Sir Josiah Child in 1676 and the family moved to Wanstead. After taking his stepfather to Court, Francis was given control of his estates and moved back to Wollaton. He invited his brother Thomas and sister Cassandra to live with him. His sister, Cassandra, wrote a history of the Willoughby family. She also kept a diary in which she mentions that in 1688, ‘Mr Prat[t]’ from the Chelsea Physic Garden helped with the layout of the garden. The same year, Francis died at the age of 20. His brother, Thomas succeeded him and was made 1st Baron Middleton in 1712. Lord Middleton made extensive alterations to the Hall, enlarged the gardens, planted avenues and built the wall around the park. Thomas also commissioned Jan Siberechts to paint several paintings of the Hall. Painted between 1695 and 1697, one is in the Middleton collection (it can be seen on the Friends of Wollerton website) while another is at the Yale Centre for British Art.

And this is an engraving of Wollaton from Kip’s Britannia Illustrata, 1707.

In 1788, Henry Willoughby, 5th Baron Middleton, built the ha-ha to separate the Hall from the Park. The area was planted with Cedars of Lebanon and Atlantic Cedars and a summerhouse with a grotto was built but has since been demolished. The terraced brick wall was also rebuilt, replacing the 17th century wall.

The Stables and Service Range date to 1743. They were extended in 1774 and again in 1829 to house an indoor riding school.

The Walled Garden was built between 1783 and 1788 to provide fruit and vegetables for the main house.

The open Loggia with Doric columns dates from 1800 and incorporates parts of earlier garden buildings.

Jeffry Wyatt (later Wyattville) was commissioned by the 6th Lord Middleton to extend the Hall and make additions to the garden including building the Camellia House which is the earliest known pre-fabricated cast-iron structure.

In 1835, the 7th Lord Middleton planted avenues of lime and oak.

In 1856, the family moved out, never to return. A lease drawn up in 1867 mentions several exotic plants growing as well as a productive Walled Garden which included a Pine House, Melon House, Cucumber House and vineries.

Because of death duties arising from the death of his father and uncle, the 11th Lord Middleton sold the estate to the Corporation of Nottingham in 1924.