Another garden I visited while staying in Yorkshire was Nostell Priory.
Nostell Priory is on the A638 Doncaster Road, seven miles south-west of Wakefield.
Beside the Priory is the Orangery and its gardens.
Behind the Orangery is the recently created Kitchen Garden. It is filled with fruit trees, a herbaceous border and vegetables all of which would have been available in the 1700s and 1800s. Much of the produce is used in the Courtyard Cafe.
There’s lots to explore in the wider landscape including the Middle and Lower Lake, the Menagerie, pleasure grounds, Pyramid Lodge and Druid’s Bridge.
From the Middle Lake, follow the path to the Menagerie Garden which was created in 1742. The house was designed by Robert Adam and included many species including monkeys, birds and lions.
The History of Nostell Priory
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Priory passed through several hands until it was bought by the Winn family in 1654; it remained in their family until 1980s. Sir Rowland Winn, 4th Baronet, inherited the property in 1722 aged 16. After returning from his Grand Tour, he commissioned Colonel James Moyser to design a new house based, it is thought, on Palladio’s Villa Mocenigo. Moyser appointed James Paine to start the building work. Paine made several changes to the plans and worked for Moyser for the next thirty years. Sir Rowland also appointed Stephen Switzer to create plans for the landscape although it is not certain how many of his ideas were implemented. After Sir Rowland’s death, Nostell was inherited by his son Rowland who chose Robert Adam to continue work on the house and to design the Obelisk Lodge. In 1805, Nostell Priory was inherited by John Williamson, son of 6th Baronet’s sister, who adopted the surname Winn although the title of baronetcy passed to a cousin. In 1984, Nostell Priory was given to the National Trust in lieu of death duties.
There is a cafe at Nostell as well as a shop and adventure play area
