Yorkshire gardens reopen after 80 years

Yorkshire gardens reopen after 80 years

» 12th April 2010 «

Garden owners in Yorkshire searching for inspiration can once again make use of a local horticultural attraction.

Goldsborough Hall has been opened to the public for the first time in eight decades following years of neglect, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) reported.

The Harrogate site was once owned by the royal family and was the home of Princess Mary - the aunt of Queen Elizabeth II.

It was opened to the public for three years in the late 1920s and became one of the first horticultural attractions to raise cash for charity through the National Garden Scheme.

However, after the princess and her husband Viscount Lascelles moved out in 1930, the site fell into disrepair until current owners Mark and Clare Oglesby elected to salvage the gardens.

Visitors can expect to see 36-metre long borders, as well as five Japanese cherry trees that were a wedding gift to the princess from the Emperor of Japan.

Meanwhile, Norfolk's Holkham Hall has been reopened to the public after five years of closure, the RHS revealed.