The Vernon family, together with prominent garden designers and landscapers of the time, developed the garden in line with the changing fashions. Adding their own ideas and tastes, the gardens have seen many changes over the years.
The 17th-century garden
When the hall was built in 1660, George Vernon, the then owner, created a walled garden centred on the south front of the Hall.
The garden was typical of the Restoration period and had parterres of grass and gravel, together with beautiful fountains and statues. Beyond the walls were avenues of fruit trees and a flight of broad steps that led down to rectangular fish ponds, where the lake now stands.
George Vernon bought many different plants for his garden. Records include 17th-century favourites such as tulips; species of primula, and clove-scented gillyflowers (carnations).
In the distance to the north lay an enclosed park. Created in 1614, it housed hundreds of deer used for hunting.