HACKFALL, situated in North Yorkshire at the village of Grewelthorpe near Ripon, used to be the “Mecca” for the rich and famous from around 1750 until the mid 19th Century when it became largely forgotten and neglected. This was a ‘landscape garden’ designed and created by William Aislabie, son of John Aislabie, the MP for Ripon around 1720. It was not until The Hackfall Trust (set up in 1988) under Mr James Ramsden that efforts were made to renew the splendour of the ‘landscape garden’ for which it was justly famous. Painted by Turner and other well known artists of the time it was used by Catherine The Great of Russia who had selected scenes depicted on her famous “Frog” Dinner Service some pieces of which are on view in St Petersbourg in Russia. The Wood of 115 acres is now owned by The Woodland Trust and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and contains Grade II listed buildings (follies) including the Rustic Temple, Fisher’s Hall, Mowbray Point, The Grotto and Mowbray Castle which have all been restored back to their former glory. The Fountain, too, is now in operation.
I was fortunate enough to photograph the work that was carried out from July 2007 for The Woodland Trust and these pictures represent just a few of them. A more detailed sequence of images has been produced in an Audio Visual Presentation which is available if required (see Slide Shows)
For more images and history please go to www.hackfall.org.uk or www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/hackfall
Near Grewelthorpe, Ripon,
North Yorkshire
Hackfall -