Barrells Park

1 Landscape gardens laid out by Lady Luxborough from 1736 onwards under the influence of Shenstone. Many features were removed in the late 18th century when the house was extended. Site still contains parkland, lake, drive, lodge, pleasure grounds with walks and mixed planting, and kitchen garden. Recommended for inclusion on Parks and Gardens Register.
2 A site of considerable significance in the development of 18th century garden design. Lady Luxborough was banished to Barrells by her husband in 1736 and set about the creation of an ambitious garden under the guidance of William Shenstone. References occur in the early 1750s to a ha-ha, serpentine garden, lower garden, hermitage, lime walk, shrubberies, aviary, statues and urns.
3 One of the sites recommended for inclusion on the Parks and Gardens Register as a result of the Review. The estate had been in the family of Lord Luxborough (the Knights) since the 16th century. Lady Luxborough, confined there by her husband from 1736, made it the centre of a literary coterie, and, from the 1740s onwards, embarked on a transformation of the grounds. Correspondence with her mentor, William Shenstone, survives, and demonstrates that Lady Luxborough’s garden was an example of the ‘ferme ornee’ of which Shenstone was a chief proponent, containing features such as a hermitage, grotto, pavilion with shrine to Venus, and roothouse, as well as urns, an aviary, bowling green and a kitchen garden. It should therefore be regarded as complementary to Shenstone’s own garden at the Leasowes. Later in the century Lord Luxborough constructed a mausoleum for himself (this was demolished in 1830). The house was extended by the next Lord Luxborough; many of the 18th century features were removed at this time, and a new scheme by Humphry Repton proposed. This was apparently only partially executed, if at all, and the estate fell into disrepair in this period. The land has changed hands several times in the 20th century and a serious fire in 1933 led to the demolition of much of the house. Parkland features are still visible, though much of the land is in agricultural use; observations suggest that remains of many of the 18th century features may be recoverable. A modern house built within the park area itself has fine contemporary gardens.
4 – 5 Some features show on OS 1:10560 1886 Sht Warks 31NE/SE.
6 – 7 Turn of the century parkland shown shaded on OS 1:10560 1906 Sht Warks 31NE/SE.
8 Shown on Greenwood’s map of 1822.