B@R Tour of Melbourne Hall Gardens
Yesterday the ‘Buildings at Risk’ (B@R) team and a group of our brilliant volunteers enjoyed a special guided of Melbourne Hall Gardens led by Head Gardener, David James.
We spent a lovely morning soaking up the Autumn colour and exploring the wealth of historic features and hidden gems that the gardens have to offer.
We particularly enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about Robert Bakewell’s beautiful iron ‘Birdcage’ arbour and the imposing ‘Four Seasons Urn’, as well as some of the quirkier garden features and the more recent works by Lord and Lady Lothian and the garden team.
David was a fabulous guide, sharing his extensive knowledge of the estate and its history and answering all our questions- heritage based and horticultural!
This visit was arranged as part of our ‘Buildings at Risk’ project in South Derbyshire and as well as learning about the history of the gardens and enjoying its natural beauty, volunteers had the opportunity to survey a range of the Grade I and II* listed buildings and structures in the grounds using the B@R app.
Thank you to everyone who joined us on this visit and special thanks to David for leading a really engaging, informative tour and Lord Lothian and the team at Melbourne Hall for opening the gardens for us outside the normal visitor season.
If you would like to find out more about our ‘Buildings at Risk’ project and its progress across the county, send the team an email to:
