Georgian carriage drive and vanished 200-year-old paths restored in grounds of Wentworth Woodhouse

The Georgian carriage drive and rosy-red footpaths that were originally made from distinctive red colliery spoil had disappeared after World War Two, when the remaining members of the Fitzwilliam family struggled to maintain their ancestral seat near Rotherham and were eventually forced to sell it.

The formal walking routes around the gardens were likely created around the time of remodelling works by landscaper Humphrey Repton in the early 1790s.

But years of neglect had left many barely visible and recent snow had worsened their condition.

Volunteers who have helped to lay the paths

The Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust were compelled to restore them this winter as the gardens are the only part of the estate currently open to the public, and have proved popular with lockdown visitors.

Gardeners and volunteers spent weeks working on the project.

The paths lead from the stables to the West Drive, down past the ha-ha to the Mulberry Garden and ornamental stone Punch Bowl. A further stretch, known as the old carriage drive, had completely grassed over but is now back to its original condition too.

The routes were researched from historic photos coupled with head gardener Scott Jamieson’s knowledge before careful excavation began.

The paths are the same colour as the original

TC Harrison JCB, one of the largest JCB specialists in the UK, loaned an eco-friendly E-Tech 1.5 tonne digger which delicately peeled back years of leaf mulch and mud.

Path edges were manually cut by the garden volunteers, then 58 tonnes of Scottish red granite gravel were laid and levelled as the red shale from coal mining is no longer recommended for safe use. Originally, the spoil would have come from the Earl Fitzwilliam's nearby pits and would have been in abundance.

Operations manager Ian Taylor said: “The paths look fabulous. We have restored this original historic feature and made them safer for everyone visiting our beautiful gardens, a vital source of income while the house is closed in the pandemic.

“We are incredibly grateful to TC Harrison JCB and our hard-working gardens team and volunteers. They made a long and difficult job so much easier. With regular maintenance, the new paths will last for years.”