View source for Trentham Estate

{{Short description|Estate and gardens in England}}
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Trentham
| image = {{multiple image |border=infobox |perrow=1/2 |total_width=270
 | image1 = Trentham Gardens in 2018.jpg
 | image2 = Trentham Gardens 2015 13.jpg
 | image3 = Trentham Gardens Shopping village 2018.jpg
 }}
| caption = The gardens (top), the hall's service block (left) and the shopping village (right)
| coordinates = {{coord|52.9634|-2.2018|format=dms|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| location = [[Swynnerton]], [[Staffordshire]]
| designation1 = Grade II*
| designation1_offname = Remains of Trentham Hall: The Grand Entrance and conservatory
| designation1_date = 24 January 1967
| designation1_number = 1190243<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1190243|desc=Remains of Trentham Hall: The Grand Entrance and conservatory|access-date=24 June 2025}}</ref>
| designation2 = Grade II*
| designation2_offname = Trentham Gardens
| designation2_date = 01 December 1984
| designation2_number = 1001168<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1001168|desc=Trentham Gardens|access-date=24 June 2025}}</ref>
}}

'''Trentham Estate''' is an estate and gardens, near the village of [[Trentham, Staffordshire|Trentham]] in Staffordshire, England,<ref name="White">{{cite book |title=History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire |location=Sheffield |year=1851 |first=William |last=White |url=http://leicester.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16445coll4/id/218240 |pages=432}}</ref> just on the southern fringe of the city of [[Stoke-on-Trent]].<ref name="listed" /> It is centred on the ruins of Trentham Hall, and also hosts a monkey forest and a shopping village.

== History ==
{{main|Trentham Priory}}

The estate was first recorded in the [[Domesday Book]] in 1086. At the time it was a royal manor, with a value of 115 shillings.<ref name="timeline">{{cite web |url=http://www.trentham.co.uk/the-trentham-estate/history-timeline |title=History Timeline |publisher=Trentham Estate |access-date=10 May 2015}}</ref> An [[Augustinians|Augustinian priory]] originally occupied the site, followed by a [[convent]].{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} [[Trentham Priory]] occupied land on the Trentham estate from the 11th century until the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]].{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

== Trentham Hall ==

The property was sold in 1540 to James Leveson, a [[Wolverhampton]] wool merchant.<ref name="timeline" /> The Leveson family occupied the property and [[Richard Leveson (MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme)|Sir Richard Leveson]] built a new house in 1634. The Leveson heiress Frances married [[Sir Thomas Gower, 2nd Baronet|Sir Thomas Gower Bt]] leading to the creation of the Leveson Gower family.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}} It was a large [[Elizabethan]] house, which was probably demolished to make way for a later [[georgian architecture|Georgian]] house.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} Their son, [[Sir William Leveson-Gower, 4th Baronet]], built a new house on the site in 1690.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

Around 1730, [[John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower]], erected a hall based on [[Buckingham Palace|Buckingham House]]. It was substantially altered by his son, [[Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford|1st Marquess of Stafford]], from designs by [[Henry Holland (architect)|Henry Holland]],<ref name="White" /> in 1775–78.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

[[Image:Trentham Hall Jones.jpg|thumb|300px|Trentham Hall in the 1820s, before the 19th-century expansion]]
[[File:Trentham Hall from Morriss Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen (1880).JPG|thumb|300px|Trentham Hall in 1880 from Morris's ''Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen'': The front entrance is at the left, leading into the three-storey main house. The two-storey family wing is at the right, beyond the [[campanile]].]]

The country house, of which parts remain dating from 1833 to 1842, was designed by [[Charles Barry]],<ref name="countryseat">{{cite web |url=https://thecountryseat.org.uk/2010/02/08/proposal-for-trentham-hall-to-be-rebuilt-as-a-hotel/ |title=Proposal for Trentham Hall to be rebuilt as a hotel |date=8 February 2010 |access-date=6 May 2015 |website=The Country Seat |first=Matthew |last=Beckett}}</ref> while he was working on the rebuild of the [[Palace of Westminster]]. He was commissioned by the [[George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland|2nd Duke of Sutherland]].{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} The focal point of the building was a {{convert|10000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} campanile clock tower.<ref name="White" />{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}<ref name="hegarty">{{cite web |url=http://www.hegartywebberpartnership.com/the-italian-gardens-at-trentham-hall/ |title=The Italian Gardens at Trentham Hall |date=6 March 2010 |access-date=9 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505055143/http://www.hegartywebberpartnership.com/the-italian-gardens-at-trentham-hall/ |archive-date=5 May 2015 |website=Hegarty Webber Partnership |first=Robert G. |last=Webber}}</ref>

The original approach to the hall was from the west, and an [[Italianate]] grand entrance was part of the western front. The one-storey arcade range is semicircular with side wings. It was made of plastered brick and ashlar, and had unfluted Ionic columns on each side of its bays, as well as a balustrade above the cornice. The centre has a three-arched entrance with ''[[porte-cochère]]'' projects, and a coat of arms is carved above. The right wing incorporates an orangery that was originally built in 1808 by Heathcote Tatham.

Barry spent over ten years improving the house and added a new block including state bedrooms and dressing rooms, as well as servant's quarters, a sculpture gallery, and a clock tower.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} This interesting complex, with its clock tower, is generally known as the Riding School, designed in 1840 and built between 1841 and 1850. It stands on the perimeter of a large cobbled stableyard and represents the last major addition to, and almost sole survivor of, the once-exciting and impressive Trentham Hall.<ref name=neville>{{cite web |website=thepotteries.org |publisher=Potteries Heritage Society |series=Neville Malkin's "Grand Tour" of the Potteries |editor-first=Steven |editor-last=Birks |first=Neville |last=Malkin |url=http://www.thepotteries.org/tour/011.htm |title=Buildings South of the Potteries: No 11 – The riding school, Trentham Hall |quote=This interesting complex, together with its clock tower, is generally known as the Riding School, designed in 1840 and built between 1841-50. It stands on the perimeter of a large cobbled stableyard, and represents the last major addition to, and almost sole survivor of the once-exciting and impressive Trentham Hall, whose bulk was demolished in 1910-12.}}</ref>

In 1851, it was described as being an "elegant mansion". It had been completely rebuilt in the previous 14 years, and had a stone front. It housed an extensive collection of paintings.<ref name="White" />

It is surrounded by an 18th- and 19th-century park designed by [[Lancelot Brown]].<ref name="atrisk" /> The house served as the Staffordshire seat of the [[Duke of Sutherland|Dukes of Sutherland]],{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}<ref name="countryseat" /> whose traditional burial place was [[Trentham Mausoleum]] nearby.

In the southern area of the Trentham Estate stands the monument to the [[George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland|1st Duke of Sutherland]].<ref>{{cite web |website=thepotteries.org |publisher=Potteries Heritage Society |series=Neville Malkin's "Grand Tour" of the Potteries |editor-first=Steven |editor-last=Birks |first=Neville |last=Malkin |url=http://www.thepotteries.org/tour/010.htm |title=Buildings South of the Potteries: No 10 – Sutherland Monument |quote=In the southern extremity of Trentham Estate, and, in sharp contrast to its natural surroundings, stands the monument to the 1st Duke of Sutherland.}}</ref> This colossal statue, designed by Winks and sculptured by Sir [[Francis Leggatt Chantrey]], surmounts a plain column of stone on a tiered pedestal. The monument was raised in 1834 at the instigation of the second Duke, a year after the first Duke's death. A wide range of possible monuments was put forward, but Chantrey, with whom Loch, the duke's chief agent, had been in touch, recommended Sir Charles Barry for the design of the monument.

=== Demolition ===

The hall was [[Destruction of country houses in 20th-century Britain|one of many to be demolished in the 20th century]], and was one of the greatest losses of the era.<ref name="countryseat" /> The [[River Trent]] no longer fed the lake in front of the hall, but it still passed the edge of the estate. Sewage and effluent from nearby potteries polluted it in the early 20th century, making life at the hall unpleasant.<ref name="tedemo" /><ref name="rhsthegarden">{{cite journal |last=Kingsbury |first=Noel |authorlink=Noel Kingsbury |date=October 2017 |title=Trentham stands triumphant |publisher=[[Royal Horticultural Society]] |journal=[[The Garden (journal)|The Garden]] |volume=142 |issue=10 |pages=30–37}}</ref>

The hall was abandoned as a residence in 1905,<ref>{{cite news |title=The Pollution of the Trent. Trentham Hall to be Closed. Letter from the Duke of Sutherland. |date=15 July 1905 |page=14 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19050715/269/0014 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Crocks and Crazes |date=22 July 1905 |page=18 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19050722/369/0018 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |quote=... the Duke of Sutherland's announcement that owing to the pollution of the Trent, Trentham Hall must be closed and that his family will cease to live there.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Parish Church In Trentham Hall |date=21 September 1905 |page=2 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19050921/045/0002 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |quote=... Trentham Hall, which the Duke of Sutherland is closing on account of the pollution of the Trent by factory refuse ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Trentham Hall and Estate |date=20 July 1905 |page=6 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19050720/131/0006 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |quote=The threatened closing of Trentham Hall is a matter of far more than local concern.}}</ref><ref name=pasttrack>{{cite web |url=https://www.search.staffspasttrack.org.uk/details.aspx?ResourceID=26842&ExhibitionID=3053&SearchType=2&ThemeID=378 |title=Aerial View of Trentham Gardens |website=Staffordshire Past Track |quote=Trentham Hall was abandoned by the family as a permanent residence in 1905. In 1910 the Duke of Sutherland offered the hall to the County of Staffordshire and the Borough of Stoke-on-Trent. The offer was refused and the building was demolished, apart from the west front and stable block. |publisher=Staffordshire County Council}}</ref><ref name="lostheritage">{{cite web |url=http://www.lostheritage.org.uk/houses/lh_staffordshire_trenthamhall.html |title=Trentham Hall |website=Lost Heritage |quote=Abandoned by 1907, no-one would buy it and it could not even be given away – the County of Staffordshire and the Borough of Stoke-on-Trent were offered it for free in 1905 – and so it was pulled down in 1912.}}</ref> and was shortly thereafter offered to [[Staffordshire County Council]] on condition that it be used as an institute of [[higher education]], to house a potential North Staffordshire College.<ref>{{cite news |title=Magnificent Gift by the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland |date=11 December 1905 |page=2 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19051211/023/0002 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Trentham Hall Home for the N.S. College |date=11 December 1905 |page=4 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19051211/065/0004 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |quote=The Duke and Duchess of Sutherland have offered Trentham Hall to the County for the purposes of higher education.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Gift of Trentham Hall |date=14 December 1905 |page=2 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19051214/059/0002 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Trentham Hall |date=15 December 1905 |page=2 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19051215/027/0002 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Trentham Hall Presented to the Public: Home for the North Staffordshire College |date=16 December 1905 |page=7 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19051216/129/0007 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="dukefederation">{{cite web |url=http://www.thepotteries.org/federation/WR004.htm |title=Duke of Sutherland supports federation |website=thepotteries.org |publisher=Potteries Heritage Society |first=Steve |last=Birks |quote=...in 1905, he first offered the hall and {{convert|200|acre|ha|sigfig=1|abbr=off}} of land to the County Council as a gift, but they turned it down. In 1907 he again offered the hall and land this time to the Potteries’ towns to make a park, but only on condition that federation went ahead. Once again the offer was declined.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Gift of Trentham Hall |date=27 January 1906 |page=10 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19060127/212/0010 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}}</ref> 

The county council, being unwilling to open a higher education institution, proposed using the hall for a teacher training college, but the Duke of Sutherland was unhappy with this suggestion.<ref name=times1906/> As the requirement to open a higher educational establishment remained, and with the council concerned that pollution from the Trent would render a residential institution at the hall undesirable,<ref name=reporttomorrow /> the county council declined the offer in 1906.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Offer of Trentham Hall |date=23 July 1906 |page=2 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19060723/011/0002 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |quote=The Duke and Duchess of Sutherland's offer of Trentham Hall to the County for the purposes of higher education was practically declined with thanks at the meeting of the County Education Committee on Saturday.}}</ref><ref name=reporttomorrow>{{cite news |title=Trentham Hall Report to the County Council to be Presented Tomorrow |date=6 August 1906 |page=2 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19060806/059/0002 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=times1906>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.com/archive/article/1906-08-08/8/3.html |title=Trentham Hall |date=1906-08-08 |issue=38,093 |page=8 |quote=At a meeting of the Staffordshire County Council yesterday the education committee presented a report in which they did not recommend the council to accept the offer of the Duke of Sutherland to present Trentham-hall to the county for the purposes of a complete institution for technical and higher education. ... the committee had suggested that the hall should be utilized as a college for training female teachers ... the suggestion ... did not meet the ideas of the duke ... and the negotiations fell through ... The committee's report was adopted by the county council.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=County Council's Decision |date=8 August 1906 |page=2 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19060808/052/0002 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="dukefederation" /><ref name=pasttrack />

The Duke of Sutherland then decided to offer the estate to the six Potteries towns{{efn|The six towns who would go on to federate to Stoke-on-Trent Borough Council in 1910: [[Burslem]], [[Fenton, Staffordshire|Fenton]], [[Hanley, Staffordshire|Hanley]], [[Longton, Staffordshire|Longton]], [[Stoke-upon-Trent]] and [[Tunstall, Staffordshire|Tunstall]].}} in 1907, in the event that they went ahead with plans to merge into a single [[county borough]].<ref name="dukefederation" /><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.com/archive/article/1907-11-22/12/3.html |title=Court News |date=November 22, 1907 |issue=38,497 |page=12 |quote=A large meeting was held last night at Burslem in support of the proposals for the federation of the six towns of the Staffordshire Potteries. The Duke of Sutherland [...] offered the district the gift of Trentham-hall and park if the towns would federate. It has always been his great pleasure to see the Potteries' people using his park, and if they would federate they should take Trentham and make the best use of it they could.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The College Question |date=23 December 1905 |page=18 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19051223/378/0018 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |quote=The offer of Trentham Hall to the County by the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland for the purposes of higher education ...}}</ref> but after their 1910 federation, the new [[Stoke-on-Trent Corporation]] also declined the offer in 1911, citing the high maintenance costs.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.com/archive/article/1911-04-13/10/20.html |title=The Potteries and Trentham Hall |date=13 April 1911 |issue=39,558 |page=10 |quote=The General Purposes Committee of the Stoke-on-Trent Council have decided to recommend the Council not to accept the Duke of Sutherland's offer to present Trentham Hall, his Staffordshire seat, to the Potteries.}}</ref><ref name="dukefederation" /><ref name=pasttrack /><ref>{{cite news |title=Prohibitive Cost of Maintenance |date=28 April 1911 |page=6 |newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Staffordshire Sentinel]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19110428/170/0006 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The hall was demolished in 1912-13<ref name="neville" /><ref name=tedemo>{{cite web |url=https://www.trentham.co.uk/history/trentham-hall-demolition/ |website=Trentham Estate |title=Trentham Hall Demolition |quote=There is a long history of construction, redesigning and demolition of Trentham Hall, starting in 1086, leading up to 1912 when demolition began on the decaying hall. The river became so polluted from the booming industrial activity up-stream that the Estate became undesirable and it began to decline. The Trent was described as ‘a foul slimy sewer, brim-full of the impurities of every dirty crowded town that hugs its banks’.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thepotteries.org/Pevsner/trentham_park.htm |title=Pevsner and the Buildings of Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Park |website=thepotteries.org |publisher=Potteries Heritage Society |quote=The house, whose bulk was demolished in 1910-12...}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thepotteries.org/city_limits/014.htm |title=Trentham - Okay so long as the cuckoos keep themselves to themselves. |series=Write to Roam |first=Fred |last=Hughes |website=thepotteries.org |publisher=Potteries Heritage Society |quote=The Hall was eventually demolished in 1913 when the Sutherland's moved away basically because of the horrible smell of the Trent.}}</ref><ref name="countryseat" /> by its owner, the [[Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland|4th Duke of Sutherland]].

During the 20th century, the estate was used for an amusement park and even for hosting the [[Lombard RAC Rally]], which cut through the Italianate gardens.<ref name="rhsthegarden" />

The sculpture gallery,<ref name=pasttrack /> clock tower,<ref name=pasttrack /> and parish church, as well as other buildings, were not demolished.

=== Current status ===
[[File:Trentham Gardens 2015 26.jpg|thumb|right|The Grand Entrance in 2015]]

The remains of Trentham Hall, namely the Grand Entrance and Orangery, were [[listed building|listed]] on 24 January 1967. Their listing was amended on 25 April 1980. They are currently Grade II* listed.<ref name="listed" /> Emergency repairs to stabilise the building were carried out.<ref name="atrisk" /> It is listed on the [[Heritage at Risk Register]].<ref name="atrisk" /> The sculpture gallery (now covered in [[wisteria]]) and clock tower also remain.<ref name="estate">{{cite web |url=http://www.trentham.co.uk/trentham-gardens/eastern-pleasure-ground/trentham-hall-remains |title=Trentham Hall Remains |publisher=Trentham Estate |access-date=9 May 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001170849/http://www.trentham.co.uk/trentham-gardens/eastern-pleasure-ground/trentham-hall-remains |archivedate=2015-10-01 |quote=In the northern-most part of the Eastern Pleasure Ground stands the remains of Trentham Hall including the sculpture gallery and clock tower. [...] The remains of the sculpture gallery are now covered in wisteria, and continue to age beautifully and draw the attention of visiting photographers. [...] St. Modwen has exciting plans for the reconstruction of Trentham Hall, as a 5* hotel and luxury spa.}}</ref>

The property was purchased by [[St. Modwen Properties]] in 1996, at which point the buildings and gardens were derelict and vandalised, and contracted the Land Use Consultants company to restore the historic landscape.<ref name="rhsthegarden" /> The surrounding Trentham Gardens were restored in 2003-04, and in 2013 they were visited by over 3 million people.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}  The Trentham Estate contains a shopping village, as well as gardens.<ref name="rhsthegarden" />

St. Modwen set out a plan to recreate the house according to the original designs at the cost of £35 million<ref name="countryseat" /> as a five-star hotel<ref name="estate" /> with 150 rooms,<ref name="countryseat" /> a luxury spa,<ref name="estate" /> and a conference centre.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} Planning permission was granted,{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} and initial plans aimed for a 2008 completion date, which was later revised to 2011.<ref name="countryseat" /><ref name="hegarty" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.propertyweek.com/news/trentham-awaits/3147705.article |website=[[Property Week]] |date=28 August 2009 |title=Trentham awaits |first=Mark |last=Shepherd |url-access=subscription}}</ref> However, in 2013 they stated that despite having planning permission to restore the hall, it was not economically viable to do so, given that the £30-35 million cost of restoring and rebuilding the hall would be greater than the hall's value as a hotel due to the then-recent [[Great Recession|economic recession]], although they stated that they were committed to restoring the hall when they could "make the numbers work".{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} {{asof|2015|05}}, the buildings stand derelict.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

== Trentham Gardens ==
[[Image:Trentham Gardens in 2005.jpg|thumb|Italian Garden]]

Trentham Gardens are formal Italianate gardens, part of an English landscape park. The gardens are set within a large area of woodland.  Together these currently together cover some {{convert|300|acre|sigfig=2|abbr=off}}.
The estate is a Grade II* registered park and garden.<ref>{{NHLE|grade=II*|desc=Trentham Gardens|num= 1001168 |date=1 December 1984}}</ref>

=== History ===
The gardens were designed as a [[landscape architecture|serpentine park]] by [[Capability Brown]] from 1758 onwards, overlying an earlier formal design attributed to [[Charles Bridgeman]]. Trentham Gardens are now principally known for the surviving formal gardens laid out in the 1840s by [[Sir Charles Barry]], which have recently been restored.  In 2012 the Trentham Estate was selected as the site of a [[Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Wood|Royal Diamond Jubilee wood]], and a new woodland of 200,000 native oak trees will be planted on the estate. Successful garden designers [[Tom Stuart-Smith]], [[Piet Oudolf]] and [[Nigel Dunnett]] have collaborated on the garden redesign.<ref name="rhsthegarden" />

Since 2000 Trentham Gardens has undergone a £120&nbsp;million ($200&nbsp;m) redevelopment by [[St. Modwen Properties]] as a leisure destination. The regeneration project at Trentham includes restoration of the Italian gardens and adjacent woodlands, the creation of a garden centre and crafts centre, and various leisure attractions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.propertyweek.com/news/feathering-the-nest/3056967.article |title=Feathering the nest |first=Jonathan |last=Brasse |date=30 September 2005 |website=[[Property Week]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref> The overall aim is to avoid noisy [[theme park]]-like attractions, and instead to offer "authentic experiences" to older people and younger children. Each year on bonfire night, visitors pay to see a bonfire with fireworks, food and fairground rides. Wire sculptures of fairies by [[Robin Wight (artist)|Robin Wright]] have been installed in the gardens.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jon |last=Douglas |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57487193 |title=Fake ads on Facebook spoil real life fairy story |publisher=BBC News Business |date=18 June 2021 }}</ref>

In December 2008 a [[transportable Ferris wheel]] was opened on site for tourists to get an overhead view of the gardens, the estate, and out over the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldtouristattractions.co.uk/wta_wheel_trentham.php |title=The Potters Wheel |website=World Tourist Attractions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201215337/http://worldtouristattractions.co.uk/wta_wheel_trentham.php |archive-date=1 February 2009}}</ref> It was removed in 2009.

In December 2022, the estate announced it had gained a licence from [[Natural England]] to host four [[Eurasian beaver]]s from Spring 2023. This would involve enclosing the lake area and gardens to prevent the animals escaping.<ref>{{cite news |title=Trentham Estate to get beavers as enclosure approved |work=BBC News |date=17 December 2022 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-64012866 |access-date=17 December 2022}}</ref>

===Mountain biking===
Trentham Gardens hosted the first-ever [[Mountain Mayhem]], a 24-hour race which included some of the biggest mountain bike brands of all time including [[Raleigh Bicycle Company|Raleigh]] and [[Giant Bicycles|Giant]]; 120 other teams also entered. The course was just under {{convert|10|mi|km|abbr=off}} long.

The winning team was the Raleigh Pro Team managed by [[Gary Coltman]] with riders Barrie Clarke, Elliot Baxter, Carl Sturgeon and Ian Cuthbertson. The Giant Team came second. They were managed by Martin Earley who also rode in the team along with Jamie Norfolk, Robin Seymour and Robert Miller. There were only teams and no solo entrants.

From 2001 to 2004 the [[Sleepless in the Saddle]] mountain bike races were held at Trentham.

==Trentham Ballroom==

The gardens were the site of the '''Trentham Ballroom''', which opened in 1931 and closed in 2002. During the [[Second World War]] it was used by the [[Bankers' Clearing House]] for the clearing of the country's cheques.  In the 1960s and 1970s many dance, rock and pop bands performed at Trentham Ballroom, including [[The Beatles]], [[Pink Floyd]], [[The Who]], [[Iron Maiden]] and [[Led Zeppelin]]. The ballroom also hosted degree ceremonies for [[North Staffordshire Polytechnic]].

==Trentham Gardens use as a music video location==
Trentham Gardens was used as the filming location for [[Altern 8]]'s song Activ 8 alongside Shelly's Laserdome. The inside of the building can be seen many times during the video and the outside of the building was also used. The duo can be seen playing two violins inside of the building and can then be seen playing a [[Roland TB-303]] and a [[Roland SH-101]] on the outside of the building.{{cn|date=December 2022}}

==Trentham at war==

Before [[World War I]], the [[Staffordshire Yeomanry]] used Trentham as a summer military training camp between 1909 and 1914.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Andrew |last1=Thornton |title=The Staffordshire Yeomanry: Summer Camps 1909-1914 |website=Wolverhampton History & Heritage Website |url=http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/yeomanry/sycamps.htm |first2=Bev |last2=Parker |quote=A training exercise at Trentham Camp, 1909. The white bands on their forage caps show that these men are playing the enemy in this exercise.}}</ref>

During World War II the Trentham Estate became a military regroupment camp for French soldiers. The French soldiers were a mix of the [[French Foreign Legion|Foreign Legion]], the [[Chasseurs Alpins]] (the light mountain division) and a tank company.<ref>{{cite book |first=Charles |last=de Gaulle |author-link=Charles de Gaulle |title=The Complete War Memoirs of Charles de Gaulle |year=1964 |page=89 |publisher=Simon and Schuster}}</ref>

The 1,619 men of the [[13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion]] had been in [[Norwegian campaign|Norway]], but had been pulled out to defend a line in [[Brittany]] from where they then fled to Britain.<ref name="Edward L. Bimberg 2002 p.80"/> The Chasseurs Alpins had arrived from [[Dunkirk]]. The Trentham camp was initially organised by the local [[YMCA]] volunteers. The FAFL pilot Marc Hauchemaille (1907-1942) recorded in his diary that "There are six or seven thousand men in the camp – a miracle of English organisation – in a few hours we have tents, groundsheets, cooking utensils"<ref>{{cite book |first=George Henry |last=Bennett |title=The RAF's French Foreign Legion: De Gaulle, the British and the Re-emergence of French Airpower 1940-45 |date=2011 |page=22 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4411-9205-9 |quote=Morale was generally awful, but Marc Hauchemaille, a pilot housed in another camp at Trentham in Staffordshire, recorded gratefully: 'There are 6 or 7,000 men in the camp – a miracle of English organisation – in a few hours we have tents, groundsheets, cooking utensils. The morale of the troops is not good. Even the [Foreign] Legion is disheartened; they have not been able to fight. |url={{GBurl|lTGoNuqmXugC}}}}</ref> – although proper medical facilities took longer to organise. Numbers at the camp appear to have lessened to 5,530 after the initial influx.<ref>{{cite book |first=Winston |last=Churchill |authorlink=Winston Churchill |title=The Second World War: Their Finest Hour |date=1949 |page=169 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin}}</ref>

By July 1940, the camp was split into pro- and anti-[[Vichy France]] factions. Some 600 men of the Foreign Legion chose to leave to join the Vichy Legion in North Africa.<ref name="Edward L. Bimberg 2002 p.80">{{cite book |first=Edward L. |last=Bimberg |title=Tricolor Over the Sahara: The Desert Battles of the Free French |date=2002 |page=80 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-31654-8 |url={{GBurl|5GtlS55tdBAC|p=80}}}}</ref> Around 900 other left to join the Free French.  The bulk of the French troops remained at Trentham.  The attitude of local people appears to have changed after the initial arrival: there were complaints about the killing of the deer herd,<ref name="French 2003 p.108">{{cite book |first=Nicholas |last=Atkin |title=The Forgotten French: Exiles in the British Isles, 1940–44 |year=2003 |page=108 |isbn=978-0-7190-6438-8 |publisher=Manchester University Press |author-link=Nicholas Atkin |url={{GBurl|BAL-r3muz-MC|p=108}}}}</ref> to the extent that estate records show that nearly all the deer were killed;<ref>{{cite book |first=Brian |last=Wood |title=History of Deer on the Trentham Estate |date=2012}}</ref> discipline was lax;<ref name="Edward L. Bimberg 2002 p.80"/> and there was extensive fraternisation with local girls.<ref name="French 2003 p.108"/> By the end of the war, local people's animosity toward the remaining French was such that many of the soldiers were glad to leave.<ref>{{cite book |first=Douglas |last=Porch |title=The French Foreign Legion: A Complete History of the Legendary Fighting Force |date=1991 |page=472 |url={{GBurl|NCMhAQAAIAAJ|p=472}} |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-016652-6 |author-link=Douglas Porch}}</ref>

== Monkey Forest ==
[[File:Barbary macaque at trentham.jpg|thumb|Barbary macaque at Trentham Monkey Forest]]
[[File:Trentham Monkey Forest 18.jpg|thumb|The fence around Trentham Monkey Forest]]

As part of the regeneration, '''Trentham Monkey Forest''', the first [[wildlife park]] of its kind in England, was opened in July 2005.<ref name="men">{{cite news |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/trips-and-breaks/trentham-monkey-forest-take-walk-4015158 |title=Take a walk on the wild side and monkey around in the forest |publisher=[[Manchester Evening News]] |date=2013-05-25 |access-date=2014-03-08 |first=Paul |last=Harrison}}</ref><ref name="forest_research">{{cite web |url=http://www.trentham-monkey-forest.com/medias/medias/96/0_____Research_proposal_guidelines_for_Monkey_Forest.pdf |title=Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) research at Monkey Forest |publisher=Trentham Monkey Forest |access-date=2014-03-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628153438/http://trentham-monkey-forest.com/medias/medias/96/0_____Research_proposal_guidelines_for_Monkey_Forest.pdf |archive-date=28 June 2011 }}</ref> It consists of {{convert|60|acre|ha|sigfig=2|abbr=off}} of forest, which contain 140 [[Barbary macaque]]s, wandering freely. There is a {{convert|0.75|mi|km}} path through the forest along which visitors walk; there are no barriers between the forest and the path,<ref name="forest_overview">{{cite web |url=http://www.trentham-monkey-forest.com/information.php?id_cat=1&id_sub_cat=6 |title=Welcome to Monkey Forest |publisher=Trentham Monkey Forest |access-date=2014-03-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308234921/http://www.trentham-monkey-forest.com/information.php?id_cat=1&id_sub_cat=6 |archive-date=8 March 2014 }}</ref> although visitors are confined to the path, which has guides to ensure the safety of both the visitors and monkeys, and there is a fence around the forest. The park is one of four owned by the de Turckheim family;<ref name="forest_research" /> the other three are {{ill|La Montagne des Singes|fr|La Montagne des singes}} in [[Alsace]], [[France]] (opened in 1969), {{ill|La Forêt des Singes|fr|Forêt des singes de Rocamadour}} in [[Lot (department)|Lot]], France (opened in 1974), and Affenberg [[Salem, Baden-Württemberg|Salem]] close to [[Bodensee]], [[Germany]] (opened in 1976).<ref name="forest_research" /><ref name="otherparks">{{cite book |chapter=Breeding Barbary Macaques in Outdoor Open Enclosures |publisher=[[Springer Publishing]] |first1=Gilbert |last1=de Turckheim |first2=Ellen |last2=Merz |year=1984 |pages=241–261 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4613-2785-1_10 |title=The Barbary Macaque |isbn=978-1-4612-9718-5 |editor-first=John E. |editor-last=Fa}}</ref> The forest is open to visitors every day between April and October inclusive, and opens on weekends and [[school holiday]]s in February, March and November.<ref name="forest_research" />

There are two groups of 70 macaques at the forest,<ref name="men" /> which were originally from other parks in [[France]] and [[Germany]]<ref name="forest_overview" /> and inhabit different parts of the forest. The oldest macaque is around 30 years old.<ref name="men" /> All of the macaques are individually identified with a tattoo on their inner thigh. A number of the female macaques have been given [[contraceptive implant]]s to limit the number of babies born at the site to around 5 to 15 per year.<ref name="forest_overview" />

One aim of the forest is to increase awareness about the endangered species; it also aims to create and preserve a [[gene pool]] and to re-introduce groups of macaques into the wild. Already 591 macaques from the forest's three sister parks have been re-introduced to the wild at the [[Atlas Mountains]], [[Morocco]].<ref name="men" /><ref name="forest_conservation">{{cite web |url=http://www.trentham-monkey-forest.com/conservation.php?id_cat=2 |title=Conservation |publisher=Trentham Monkey Forest |access-date=2014-03-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309000613/http://www.trentham-monkey-forest.com/conservation.php?id_cat=2 |archive-date=9 March 2014}}</ref> The forest also has a [[conference venue]].<ref name="forest_conference">{{cite web |url=https://monkey-forest.com/plan-your-event/conferences/ |title=Conference facilities |publisher=Trentham Monkey Forest |access-date=2021-01-15}}</ref> The forest supports research into the biology and social behaviour of the macaques at the park.<ref name="forest_research" />

==See also==
*[[Listed buildings in Swynnerton]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2|refs=

<!-- Historic England -->
<ref name="listed">{{National Heritage List for England |num=1190243 |desc=Trentham Hall |access-date=9 May 2015}}</ref>
<ref name="atrisk">{{cite web |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/heritage-at-risk/search-register/list-entry/46994 |title=Remains of Trentham Hall, the Grand Entrance and Orangery, Park Drive, Trentham Gardens, Swynnerton – Stafford |publisher=[[Historic England]] |access-date=15 January 2021}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
{{commons category|Trentham Estate}}
* {{cite book |title=The Beauty of Trentham |publisher=Burslem Books |orig-year=2004 |edition=second |year=2012 |first=David |last=Hayden}}

==External links==
*[http://www.trenthamleisure.co.uk/ Official site]
*[https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Trentham+Gardens/@52.9642849,-2.1982422,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xfa5fce29bd76c969!8m2!3d52.9642849!4d-2.1960535?hl=en/ Trentham Gardens Map Location]
*[http://www.monkey-forest.com Trentham Monkey Forest]
*[http://www.gardenvisit.com/g/trenth.htm Trentham Gardens – History Guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202223006/http://www.gardenvisit.com/g/trenth.htm |date=2 December 2008 }}
*[http://www.lostheritage.org.uk/houses/lh_staffordshire_trenthamhall.html Trentham Hall at Lost Heritage – a memorial to the lost houses of England]
*[http://www.extrageographic.org/magazine/features/2007/0700405_monkey_forest.html Trentham Monkey Forest article and photos]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umHV1DYv-WU The first-ever Mountain Mayhem in the UK at Trentham]

{{Stoke-on-Trent}}

[[Category:Leveson-Gower family|!]]
[[Category:British country houses destroyed in the 20th century]]
[[Category:Gardens by Capability Brown]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Stoke-on-Trent]]
[[Category:Former country houses in England]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Stoke-on-Trent]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1912]]
[[Category:Country houses in Staffordshire]]
[[Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Staffordshire]]
[[Category:Charles Barry buildings]]
[[Category:Structures on the Heritage at Risk register]]
[[Category:Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Staffordshire]]
[[Category:Grade II* listed garden and park buildings]]
[[Category:Monkey parks]]
[[Category:Country estates in England]]