Knebworth House: Dry summer reveals original Victorian garden

The UK's dry weather has helped reveal the former ornate Victorian garden design of a stately home.

Temperatures of up to 39.2C (102.5F) in Hertfordshire dried out the Sunken Lawn at Knebworth House and laid bare its original formal garden design.

The original 1840s parterre was removed in the early 1900s.

Head gardener Kevin Hilditch, said it was "fascinating" to see, but he would be "much happier if it would rain sometime soon".

Knebworth House first achieved fame in Victorian times as the home of the novelist, playwright and politician Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, author of the words "it was a dark and stormy night" and "the pen is mightier than the sword".

During the 1840s, as well as making alterations to the house, he had a formal garden - known as a parterre - created to his design.

It featured ornate symmetrical box-edged flower beds, set among gravel paths, with fountains and lots of statues.

Knebworth House said archive records showed the original designs had more than 30,000 bedding plants and 14 gardeners were required to look after it.

In 1910, architect Edwin Lutyens, who had married into the Lytton family, redesigned the Sunken Lawn area. The Victorian parterres were removed and twin avenues of pollarded lime trees were introduced. He also added a central square reflective pool.

It is believed his design, which remains in place today, was done at a difficult time for the estate to reduce garden maintenance costs.

Mr Hilditch said: "As the summer has progressed it has been fascinating to watch more of the Victorian Garden layout appear on the Sunken Lawn, although I would be much happier if it would rain sometime soon."

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