RHS Garden Bridgewater

We've been away for a few days to visit some gardens in the north of England. The first one was RHS Bridgewater, a very new garden.

The garden was created on the site of the estate of Worsley New Hall in Salford.

The Hall was built between 1840 and 1845 for Francis Egerton, the 1st Earl of Ellesmere.
The gardens were landscaped over a period of 50 years. Like many gardens of it's era there was a lake, a croquet lawn, a tennis court, an area of woodland and an 11 acre kitchen garden.

During the 2nd World War parts of the Hall were requisitioned by the War Office and it's gardens were used as training grounds by the Lancashire Fusiliers.
With the departure of the Egerton family from the Worsley Estate, the Hall and gardens declined. Gradually the Hall fell into disrepair and in 1943 the building was demolished and nature reclaimed the extensive gardens.

In 2017 the RHS began work on an ambitious plan to create a world class garden on this site for the northwest of England.

The garden opened to the public on 18th May 2021, having been delayed a year by the Covid Pandemic.

Chris and I had watched a series of programmes on tv, documenting the making of the garden so it was interesting to go and visit. The garden is very much in it's early stages of development but it was fascinating to see it at this early stage. With future plans to develop new areas in the wider landscape it really is an exciting project. We'll definitely go back.