Monument record MDR12401 - Park and gardens, Alton Manor, Alton

The landscape park and gardens associated with Alton Manor were presumably created around the same time as the construction of the house, ie 1846/7. A description of Alton Manor in 1984 notes that it is set "in a delicious 26 acre park". (1) The park has been plotted on the GIS using the 1st ed. OS map of c. 1880 to estimate its extent in the 19th century, although the exact boundaries are uncertain in some places. Comparison of the OS map with Sanderson's map of 1835 shows that some, although not all, of the trees scattered around the landscape park were the result of the removal of earlier hedgerows, as they follow the line of field boundaries shown on Sanderson's map. Plantations were also laid out, however, including the named Tinkerley, Wapentake, Rushy, Fishpond, Winnowing Piece, Milepost and Big Plantations. Several additional small un-named plantations are also shown on the OS map, two of which are circular. The outline of one of these, now removed, is still visible on a modern aerial photograph. Several troughs are shown within the park, presumably for watering stock. The township boundary between Kirk Ireton and Alton, which runs through the western side of the former park, was marked by a row of beech trees to the south of Wapentake Plantation and by a boundary stone further north - these features do not appear to have survived. Two fishponds were created on the Alton Brook, the larger one having a boat house at its north-eastern end. An ice house was constructed to the north-west of Alton Manor [see SMR 21506] and a walled garden with greenhouses was built to the north of the Manor. All these features survive, as do some of the plantations and infield trees. A new fishpond has been created to the east of the Manor. (2-4)