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Lyveden
Intriguing Elizabethan lodge and moated garden
Lyveden, near Oundle, Northamptonshire, PE8 5AT
Important notice
From Monday 13 May to Wednesday 15 May there will be emergency works taking place on Harley Way. You will still be able to access Lyveden, but there may be delays.
Opening times for 10 May 2024
Asset Opening time Lyveden 10:00 - 17:00 Lyveden manor café 10:00 - 17:00 Last entry to the site is at 4pm. Last orders in the café are half an hour before closing.
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Ticket type Gift aid Standard Adult £10.50 £9.50 Child £5.30 £4.75 Family £26.20 £23.75 Family One Adult £15.70 £14.25 Group Adult £9.03 Group Child £4.51 Become a member and discover more than 500 places
Audio guide
Dogs
Cafe
Toilet
Car park
Accessible parking: 100 yards. Partly accessible grounds, grass and uneven paths, limited benches around the site. Accessible toilet located at the manor. Designated accessible parking available close to visitor reception. Limited availability of mobility scooter hire.
Accessible route and/or map
Powered mobility vehicle available
Accessible toilet
Ramped access/slopes
Braille (guide or menu)
Braille guide available from Visitor Reception
Seating available
Designated parking
Steps/uneven terrain
Uneven grass paths throughout the site
Induction loop
Wheelchairs available
Powered mobility vehicle and manual wheelchair available for visitors
Level access to food outlet
By road
off A6116. From Oundle take A427
Parking: free, 100 yards
On foot
Lyveden Way passes though Lyveden and connects with Wadenhoe and Fermyn Woods
By train
Kettering 10 miles
By bus
from Northampton train station to Peterborough train station
By bicycle
Planning your visit
Events at Lyveden
Discover what's on at Lyveden this spring.
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Visiting Lyveden with your dog
Lyveden is a three pawprint rated place. Dogs on leads are welcome throughout the garden at Lyveden and on the ground floor of the Manor. Share your day with your dog as you explore woodland and the Northamptonshire countryside together.
Highlights
Lyveden manor
Step inside the manor to discover Lyveden's intriguing story in the exhibition space or relax with a book in the 'Common Room'.
Garden lodge
Lyveden's unfinished Elizabethan lodge is filled with symbolism that only Tresham's Catholic contemporaries would have understood.
Elizabethan garden
A rare Elizabethan relic and one of the country’s oldest garden landscapes. Complete with terraces, spiral mounts, moats and orchard.
Lyveden manor café
Light lunches, sandwiches, drinks and homemade cakes are available in the café. There is seating both inside and outside. Dogs are welcome.
Meadows
The garden and lodge are surrounded by restored hay meadows. Providing food and shelter to pollinating insects, birds and small mammals.
Second-hand bookshop
Lovingly curated by our volunteers, you're bound to find your next page-turner nestled on the shelves of our second-hand bookshop.
Spotlight events
Blossom Bathing
Take a mindful stroll around the orchard at Lyveden to take in the beauty of the season.
Nature Detective
Can you help Squirrel Holmes use nature clues to solve the mystery of who stole the gardener's biscuits?
Things to see and do
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Things to do at Lyveden manor
With a manor house to see, plan your visit here, with historical talks, information on the garden design and our temporary exhibition space there's plenty to see and do.
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Family-friendly things to do at Lyveden
From making friends with a bug to adventures in the great outdoors, there's something for everyone at Lyveden.
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Exploring the grounds at Lyveden
With a garden to explore, seasonal highlights to discover and an audio guide to learn the story of Tresham’s unfinished house, there’s lots to do at Lyveden.
Eating
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Eating and drinking at Lyveden
Visit the Grade I-listed Manor to find the recently opened café serving light meals, sandwiches, drinks and cakes.
Places to stay
Lyveden Cottage
Mystery, beauty, and the peace of forgotten places surround this cottage in the Northamptonshire countryside.
Upcoming events
Event
Blossom bathing | all-age, self-led trail
Talk a mindful stroll around the orchard at Lyveden to take in the beauty of the season.
Event
Nature Detective | family trail
Can you help Squirrel Holmes use nature clues to solve the mystery of who stole the gardener's biscuits?
Event
Craft Thursday | Nature Diaries
Fascinated with animals and nature? Join our family fun activity making your own nature journals.
Event
Foraging workshop (Three hour session)
Discover seasonal wild foods and learn to forage safely while still leaving plenty of Mother Earth's bounty for nature.
Event
Foraging Workshop (One and a half hour session)
Discover seasonal wild foods and learn to forage safely while still leaving plenty of Mother Earth's bounty for nature.
Event
Free family activites | Summer of Lyveden
Get out and about this summer with a new, free self-led activity each week.
Event
Outdoor Tuesday | Summer holidays
Get outdoors and have fun with some active activities this summer.
About Lyveden
Set in the heart of rural Northamptonshire, Lyveden is a remarkable survivor of the Elizabethan age.
Begun by Sir Thomas Tresham to symbolise his Catholic faith, Lyveden remains incomplete and virtually unaltered since work stopped on his death in 1605.
There are tranquil moats, viewing terraces and an Elizabethan orchard to explore, as well as an enigmatic garden lodge covered in religious symbols. The full extent of Sir Thomas's symbolic design remains unexplained to this day.
Our audio guide describes Sir Thomas’s dream and how it all ended in a nightmare for the Tresham family with their involvement in the Gunpowder Plot.
Lyveden is also the perfect starting point to explore the Lyveden Way, a circular path through beautiful meadows, woodland and villages.
History
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History of Lyveden
Discover how religious persecution, treason and debt stopped Tresham’s vision from being fulfilled and why Lyveden stands as a reminder of his act of quiet and creative rebellion.
Our work
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Our work at Lyveden
Find out more about our work at Lyveden, from restoring lost areas of the garden to using archaeology to reveal Lyveden’s secrets.
Support us
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Volunteer opportunities at Lyveden
Find out more about volunteering at Lyveden. By joining the team, you'll help bring to life the stories of this intriguing Elizabethan lodge.