Lyme
Park
Lyme Park lies just inside
the northern boundary of Macclesfield Borough about 12 miles from
the town centre. Owned by the National
Trust since 1946, Lyme Handley as it was then known, was granted
to Piers Legh and his wife Margaret, after a fifty year delay,
by Richard II in 1398. The gift was in recognition of the heroic
deeds of Margaret's grandfather at the Battle of Crecy.
This view of Lyme Hall from
the north shows something of its elevated yet sheltered positioning
in the local geography sited at 240 metres above sea level in
the western foothills of the Pennines. The upper eastern boundary
of the park runs up to the 400 metre contour, with a total area
of the park some 1400 acres.
Seen here from the approach
drive through the (red) deerpark, its elevated position (263m)
and outline enable The Cage, a hunting shelter and viewpoint for
the ladies and children, to be seen from miles away across the
Cheshire plain.
The Elizabethan Frontispiece
dating from 1570 was retained during the later and most extensive
remodelling of the Hall completed in 1734, to designs by Giacomo
Leoni of Venice.
The inner courtyard with
rusticated arcades around three sides and the double staircase
to the Doric portal of the formal entrance to the Hall are mainly
as envisaged by Leoni. The typical tiling and Italian Renaissance
well-head are mid-1800s Romantic additions.
In common with all such
properties photography inside the Hall is not normally allowed
although I was allowed to photograph some views of the gardens
and park from within. The Lantern, the tall structure distantly
viewed through the trees, was used by one of the Legh's as a visual
indicator of the hunting possibilities of the day. Hunting being
ruled out if, viewed from his breakfast table, it was shrouded
in mist or low cloud and had had trees cut down to enable the
through view.
Another aspect of the view
of the eastern gardens and the end wall of the Orangery rising
above the lower level of the recently restored garden designed
by Lewis Wyatt in 1812.
A surreptitiously acquired
view of the Elizabethan Long Gallery which has been extensively
rearranged over its 400 year history. Such long galleries in stately
homes were used by the inhabitants for exercise during inclement
weather.
Another sneaked shot of
part of the Elizabethan Great Hall which, after structural alterations
between 1814/18 by Lewis Wyatt, became the Drawing Room.
On the ground floor, in
a service area, an Art Exhibition of good quality pictures for
local NT funds.
The imposing Ionic Portico
of the South Front, wholly by Leoni.
At the south-west corner
of the house, the view over the Dutch Garden laid out in the 1860s.
Sadly today is not in the best season for floral colour.
From beyond the lake, the
South Front entire, not only of Lyme Hall but also, according
to the BBC, of 'Pemberley' the home of Mr Darcy in Jane Austen's
'Pride and Prejudice'.
On this Bank Holiday I was
not the only one here with serious photographic intent - some
are more serious than others, however. :o)
Continued
in Part II
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