The Times has rated this Yorkshire stately home's gardens as among the best in Britain

Brodsworth HallBrodsworth Hall
Brodsworth Hall
The Times has selected a Yorkshire garden as one of the most beautiful in the country.

The beautifully-preserved Victorian gardens at Brodsworth Hall, near Doncaster, are second in the newspaper's list of the most beautiful British gardens that are open to visitors.

Writer and horticultural expert Stephen Anderton described the English Heritage-run stately home's gardens as a 'real mess' 20 years ago, before the start of a major restoration programme transformed the formal grounds.

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The Yorkshire Dales shepherdess and the story of her 'one-woman farm'The gardens have now been restored to their 19th-century Italianate style, and boast croquet lawns, shrubberies, a sunken fernery, a rose garden, an archery range and a game larder.

Thorp Perrow ArboretumThorp Perrow Arboretum
Thorp Perrow Arboretum

They were second only to Pensthorpe Natural Park, a bird reserve in Norfolk, on the list.

Built in 1861, Brodsworth is one of the most complete surviving examples of a Victorian country house, and has barely changed since then. It was owned by the Thellusson family, whose wealth came from the coal mines in the area, and was given to English Heritage after the last occupant's death in 1988.

Crackpot Hall: The Yorkshire ruins and the mystery of a feral childThe gardens appear in the most recent series of ITV's period drama Victoria - they were chosen by location scouts for their authenticity.

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The Times' article also includes a sub-list of the top 10 arboretums to visit in Britain, which features two Yorkshire attractions for tree lovers.

Thorp Perrow Arboretum in Bedale, which is second in the list, was planted in 1931 by the Ropner family on their estate. The 85-acre woodland garden has a lake, a pinetum and five National Plant Collections, as well as a cafe and children's play area.

Norton Conyers: The Yorkshire house that inspired Charlotte Bronte's Jane EyreThe Yorkshire Arboretum is on the Castle Howard estate and was only planted in 1959 by gardener Jim Russell. It now contains over 6,000 trees and is run as a joint enterprise between Castle Howard and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. It includes several rare and endangered species.

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