Continuing my research while the students were in Dublin, I made it to Tatton Park, one of England's very well-known grand estates, located just southwest of Manchester. The park is truly that, a vast expanse of trees and pastures dotted with hundreds of deer. Within the park is the famous mansion and gardens, which were the focus of my investigation. The park and gardens were in part the product of the famous landscaper, Humphrey Repton (1752-1818) who produced one of his 'Red Books' for the site. The pleasure gardens incorporate elements from many different styles, most of them in a grand scale: a walled garden (for fruit and vegetable production), topiaries, a rose garden, an italian garden (above), the tower garden (at right, described as 'a masculine garden' in a brochure), an arboretum with outstanding specimens of unusual trees, a maze, a conservatory with ferns (fernery), and probably one of the best examples of a Japanese garden outside of Japan (bottom of the page). This is another, of many, remarkable places in the UK.
