Recent heatwave uncovers National Trust Gawthorpe Hall's 'ghost garden'

As has happened in previous heatwaves, particularly the summer of 2018, dry conditions have resulted in the outline of the Victorian formal garden at Gawthorpe re-emerge on its front lawn.

The Elizabethan country house, in the care of the National Trust, ws remodelled in the 1850s by noted architect Sir Charles Barry, famous for his work on the Houses of Parliament.

The last time the old garden was uncovered came during the 2018 heatwave when it became the focus of Channel 4’s Hidden Britain by Drone: Heatwave Special television programme, presented by Blackadder and Time Team star Sir Tony Robinson.

He used drone technology to see the garden and the stately hall in a completely different way - from above – and that’s exactly what the Burnley Express has done with our drone shots this year.

Our unique bird's-eye view of the Jacobean Hall in Padiham shows the garden that was created during the recent hot weather, caused by various types of soil drying at different rates.

This has caused the layout of the Italianate style south parterre garden at the front of Gawthorpe Hall to show through the current lawn, displaying the old garden layout.

Sir Charles redesigned the garden at the front and back of the hall. The garden at the back is smaller and still in place, but the front one became too onerous to maintain after the Second World War, and was removed in 1946.