Rescuing an 18th-century pleasure ground

This pleasure ground from the mid-18th century laid out in a picturesque style was designed around striking natural rock formations and a lake formed from two earlier fishponds, once the subject of J.M.W. Turner’s first two oil commissions in 1798.

The Grade II* listed park and gardens of Plumpton Rocks risked loss through silting and self-seeding, being added to the Heritage at Risk Register in 2012. Plumpton Rocks was later removed from the register in 2021 with many other historic sites across England.

We were initially commissioned to lead the design team to carry out desilting works to the lakes. The completion of the first-phase desilting works attracted further grant contributions from Historic England and Country Houses Foundation funding, enabling additional features to be saved, including masonry repairs to the Grade II listed dam designed by John Carr.