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Lyveden
Intriguing Elizabethan lodge and moated garden
Lyveden, near Oundle, Northamptonshire, PE8 5AT
Important notice
Access to the interior of the lodge is closed due to essential conservation work. The manor and the rest of the site is open as usual.
Opening times for 2 July 2025
Asset Opening time Lyveden 10:00 - 17:00 Lyveden manor café 10:00 - 16:30 Last entry is one hour before the closing time. Last orders in the café are 30 minutes before the café closes.
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Ticket type With Gift Aid Without Gift Aid Adult (18+) £12.10 £11.00 Child (5-17) under 5s free £6.10 £5.50 Family (2 Adults and up to 3 children) £30.30 £27.50 Family One Adult £18.20 £16.50 Group (Adult 18+) £10.45 Group (Child 5-17) £5.23 Become a member and discover more than 500 places
- Audio guide
- Café
- Car park
- Dogs allowed
- Toilet
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
- Accessible toilet
- Braille (guide or menu)
Braille guide available from Visitor Reception
- Designated parking
- Induction loop
- Level access to food outlet
- Powered mobility vehicle available
- Ramped access/slopes
- Seating available
- Steps/uneven terrain
Uneven grass paths throughout the site
- Wheelchairs available
Powered mobility vehicle and manual wheelchair available for visitors
- 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
- Cycling
Planning your visit
Events at Lyveden
Events at Lyveden this spring.
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Accessibility at Lyveden
This guide provides detailed information to help you plan your visit and make the most of your time at Lyveden.
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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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Visiting Lyveden with your dog
Lyveden is a three pawprint rated place. Dogs kept on short 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.
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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
The Manor House Murder; A Murder Mystery Evening
At her birthday celebration dinner Lady Grey is found, murdered... But, who bumped her off? Her daughter, May Grey? The local solicitor - Don Kees? The deaf housekeeper Miss Hitts? The gamekeeper Private Acres? And what about the crusty old Scottish physician - Dr Macabre? Only YOU can crack the case and make the arrest! Click this link to get your tickets.
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
The café in the Grade I-listed manor serves a range of hot and cold drinks, light meals, snacks and cakes to keep you refreshed during your visit. Take a seat indoors or enjoy your cuppa in the outdoor seating area.
Places to stay
Lyveden Cottage
Mystery, beauty, and the peace of forgotten places surround this cottage in the Northamptonshire countryside.
Upcoming events
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Death of a Clown - Oundle Fringe Performance
A Shakespearian tragi-comical history. The rise and fall of Will Kemp: a tale of two Wills... An event held as part of the Oundle Fringe Festival.
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The Manor House Murder; A Murder Mystery Evening
Join us for an evening of murder, mystery and intrigue in this exciting new dinner/theatre experience at Lyveden.
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Monthly Guided Walk at Lyveden
Join our Guided Walk leaders for a monthly social walk, beginning at Lyveden and then heading off into the beautiful Northamptonshire countryside.
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Thomas Tresham and Elizabeth I - A Turbulent Relationship - History Talk
Join volunteer Tony to learn all about the often fractious relationship between Thomas Tresham and Elizabeth I.
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The Lyveden Plays Acting Workshop
Join us for a short workshop based around the Lyveden plays, which lets you get personally acquainted with the Tresham family whilst learning the art of stagecraft.
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Starry Night needle felting
Dive into the world of needle felting with Something Less Boring's enchanting Starry Night workshop.
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Camp Lyveden week one: Historical treasure hunt
Join us as we venture back in time with a week jam packed with historical themed activities.
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.