Shugborough - from Napoleon to Da Vinci

There have been a lot of changes at Shugborough since my last visit four years ago and they are all for the better. The big difference was leaving my car on the outskirts of the estate and then being transported into an environment that has been time warped in the early 1800s.

I was met by Richard Kemp, the enthusiastic general manager, who immediately transported us into the 19th century by taking us to meet a dung carrier in the walled garden! Shugborough’s walled garden dates to 1805 and was once a horticultural centre of excellence. Now visitors can meet the workers in the garden dressed in authentic clothes of the period. Our dung carrier friend seemed a little concerned about Napoleon and warned us not to get on the wrong side of the Cook, Mrs Stearn! (pictured above left)

The children clearly loved it and so did we. In addition to the formal gardens, there is plenty to see and experience - from the farmhouse, dairy and water mill to the delightful smells of the brewery - then we encountered the famed Mrs Stearn who offered us some of her home cooking. This is one of the big changes at Shugborough enabling the visitor to have a much more in-depth experience of a traditional 19th century working estate which is so much more refreshing than looking entirely at static exhibits.

"I think people are now beginning to understand that the days of 'don't touch' exhibits and glass cases are firmly behind Shugborough", explains Richard. "What we have now is a top class family day out -presenting history in a fun way by getting people to chat with first person costumed characters and get stuck in with dollypegging, cheese-making and baking in the real historic environments."

From the cluster of buildings at the farmhouse and diary it is only a short ride by land train (or you can take a lovely walk through stunning scenery) to the mansion house after which you can enjoy a delightful stroll through the elegant riverside formal gardens or take a walk around the woodlands.

We had the added benefit of Head Gardener Joe Hawkins (pictured left) to show us round the gardens. His passion for the estate is infectious and we immediately feel involved as he shares with us some of his ideas for the gardens and points out some of the special plants and trees.

The many temples and monuments dotted about the Park make Shugborough an important estate as it forms a landmark in the evolution of English eighteenth-century garden architecture. James Stuart and Nicholas Revett spent several years in Greece studying the remains of Hellenic buildings and when they returned to England they published The Antiquities of Athens. This caused quite a stir and started the new vogue for the Greek taste.

Thomas Anson commissioned Stuart to construct a three-dimensional version of the Antiquities in the park. Today, the Park's follies and buildings are still magnificient and include - The Tower of the Winds, Triumphal Arch, The Ruin, Doric Temple, the Lanthorn of Demosthenes and of course the now famous Shepherd's Monument, which has become of special interest since the Da Vinci code.

There are now very few traces of Thomas Anson's mid-eighteenth-century Rococo layout in the gardens. The gardens to the west of the house are now a series of formal terraced lawns with clipped yews. This area was redesigned by W.A.Nesfield in 1855 and in the 1960s the terraces were planted in a theme of yellow, purple and grey. Lawns now occupy the site of Thomas Anson’s bowling green, stepping smoothly down to the River Sow beside which sit the most amazing ruins complete with remains of an old Druid. The is something quite atmospheric about those ruins with the back-drop of the driver.

Across the River Sow you can see the Arboretum containing a variety of interesting trees, including Wellingtonias.

You can take a pleasant walk alongside the River Sow or you can turn onto the North Walk and take the path that leads to the Chinese House, completed in 1747 and probably the first of Anson’s garden buildings.

This path also leads round to the Shepherd's Monument - already in existence by 1758, it was designed by Thomas Wright and takes its name from the marble relief, based on the engraving of the painting by Poussin, Et in Arcadia Ego. On the tablet is a cryptic inscription which was highlighted in the Da Vinci Code and which to date as far as I am aware no one has encrypted. Poussin was believed to have been a member of the Knights Templar and the original painting caused a lot of speculation over its Masonic symbolism. The painting is linked with the mysterious Holy Grail.

I think for the gardening enthusiast the strength of Shugborough lies in its pastoral setting and the Park’s monuments for they give us a wonderful history lesson in the development of the English estate during the 18th century. There are also some wonderful trees and shrubs ensuring that whatever time of year you visit there will be something of interest. You can also buy a season pass which will allow you to return again and again starting from as little as £12.50.

Thanks to Richard and Joe for a delightful visit which we enjoyed on a beautiful spring day. For more information about Shugborough log onto www.shugborough.org.uk