The garden at Melford Hall is laid out in an Edwardian style with some spectacular specimen trees, such as a great beech on the west lawn.
Great domes of clipped box bushes puncture the lawns and there is an interesting arrangement of yew hedges and golden yews to the north of the house.
The beds around the pond and fountain, made by Ulla, Lady Hyde Parker, in 1937, have been planted with herbs.
© National Trust / David Kirkham
History of the garden
Over the centuries the garden has developed into a place of beauty and variety.
The first reliable visual record of the garden and park is Samuel Pierse’s estate map of 1613 for Sir Thomas Savage. The map, now on display in the Great Hall, provides important evidence of the extensive gardens and parkland surrounding Melford Hall.
The garden around the house was essentially square, defined by an outer wall and moat.
Within the outer wall, the garden was divided into further rectangular, walled compartments.
To the south were the stables and other service buildings, with their own courtyards, where laundry would have been hung to dry.
To the east were two walled forecourts, each with its own gatehouse, through which visitors would have passed to reach the main entrance to the house.
On the north side of the house was a formal garden, which matched in size the stable courtyards on the opposite side of the house.
To the west was another larger formal garden, with more square parterres flanking a circular pond.
The West (Garden) Front
© National Trust / David Kirkham
Four turrets tower above the Hall's roof line to provide an impressive backdrop to the West Garden. They would have looked even more imposing before the three-storey corner blocks were added, probably in the early 17th century. At this time the whole of this front seems to have been re-cast to provide a suitably grand backdrop to the best garden which was laid out in front of it.
The Banqueting House
© National Trust / David Kirkham
At the north west corner of the west garden lies the Banqueting House. It is a rare survival of Tudor architecture dating from the early 17th century.
A recently discovered detailed inventory of goods and chattels documents the brass, pewter, plate and linen found in the Banqueting House and Melford Hall in 1635, when it would also have contained a marble table and five gilt wood chairs.
The panelling and sash windows were installed in the 18th century, together with the furnace on the ground floor, which fed a network of heating pipes, perhaps so that the building could be used as an orangery.
Parkland
© National Trust / David Kirkham
Samuel Pierse’s map shows the parkland as a remnant of the deer park belonging to the Abbots of St Edmundsbury, who loved to watch deer hunts here.
The park is significant for being predominantly of one era with few additions since it was last laid out.
Within the park are a number of veteran oak trees, relics of the former medieval park. These oaks are home to several notable restricted species of plants and animals.
During the 1980s, many of the oak avenues that had disappeared over time were reinstated.
Today, you are able to take one mile circular walk of the park as part of your visit to Melford Hall.
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