So, what happened at this garden in the Lake District 300 years ago?

Our second unique garden in Britain is at Levens Hall in the Lake District which was created in the late 1600's by Guillaume Beaumont who trained under Andre Le Notre at Versailles. It is considered the oldest topiary garden in the world.

Whether or not the intentions were to create massive topiary shapes, I am not sure as it would have taken many years for the garden to take mature. It is possible that the yew features were intended to be much smaller similar to those at Versailles and Hampton Court within parterres, and much more formal.

At other gardens In the 1700s many of the topiary gardens were cut down by the designers of the time who favoured the more 'Natural' look, but they were then revived in the 1800s. At Levens Hall it is possible that the yew plants were not managed or cut regularly and were then shaped into different forms as time went by.

Whatever happened Levens Hall in Cumbria is considered feature some of the finest topiary in the world and is unique not only in the British Isles but worldwide. It also has more naturalistic garden areas.

The House and Gardens are open until the 6th October but closed Fridays and Saturdays.
September is a great time to visit.
Click here to find out more about the House and Gardens

We also feature recommended places to stay nearby.