manchester tourist guide regional sightseeing
Thursday, 24th July 2003
Dunham Massey HallCharcoal Lane
Altrincham
0161 941 1025
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
House and Garden: adults £5.80, children £2.90, family £14.50, National Trust members free, £3 car park.
March-Oct: Garden 11am - 5.30pm, House Sat-Wed 12 noon - 5pm, park open all year 9.30 am-7.30pm. Smaller than Lyme Park or Tatton Park but still one of the big three stately homes now open to the public in Manchester's southern hinterlands. The house is of red brick with the centre of the facade stone-faced. It is a handsome building, plain and strong with elements dating from C17 although most of the building is early C18. The house was opened to the public on the death of the Earl of Stanford in 1976. The rather severe interior is perhaps a reflection of the last Earl's bachelor status. The most famous feature of the hosue is its collection of Huguenot silver.
The garden is lovely and large and contains an exquisitely kept parterre, an aromatic orangery and a busy Edwardian water garden. Outside the garden is the informal parkland area which stretches over a couple hundred acres. To add grace to the landscape of grass and tree there is a herd of fallow deer which regenerates itself and every year there are up to 20 fawns produced. Close to the house is an attractive and working Elizabethan water mill. The Coach House features a permanent display on the park's natural history. You'll also find a restaurant/cafe, shop and art gallery. Good lunches can be had if you follow the cinder path over the gate near the Mill to Little Bollington and the attractive Swan with Two Necks pub.
Toilets, baby changing, food and drink, shop, group and school visits, disabled access, Braille interpretation, guided tours, events. Links within ManchesterOnline
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