Gardens Conservation & Restoration Project

Gilding of the North Balcony Wyvern Following the transfer of ownership of Wrest Park house and gardens to English Heritage in April 2006 it was decided to proceed with the first phase of a garden features conservation and restoration project. The project works began in September 2007 and will run until March 2008, costing £800,000.

Early works included the repair and redecoration of the ironwork at the Silsoe Gates and North Front Entrance, where the major element was the reinstatement of two nineteenth-century cast iron standard lamps on their stone pedestals, back to the original complement of six lamps.

Closer to the house, the re-presentation and correction of the level of the carriage drive, combined with the removal of car parking, has considerably enhanced the approach to the mansion. Already, the conservation work has yielded exciting and unexpected results. Granite setts, thought to date back to the original time of the mansion, were discovered when the tarmac in front of the mansion was peeled away. These have now been cleaned and a small number have been replaced.

One of Six Marble Urns Undergoing Restoration Missing elements to the terrace and parterre railings have been restored and redecorated to the historically accurate colour scheme, a rich green, replacing the modern blue. The work, which has further enhanced the south aspect of the house and the garden approach, also included highlighting the railings with gilding, as recorded in late nineteenth and early twentieth century photographs. A group of six marble urns and a pair of marble sculptures will be replaced on the Parterre railings after the completion of the conservation work.

The mansion south balcony railings and the Dairy ironwork have been conserved and redecorated, and, together with the work on the terrace and parterre railings, constitute a cohesive design.

Conservation work has taken place on a large group of marble statues and a marble fountain in the Woodland Garden and Park.

Cleaning, conservation, resetting and repair of existing headstones in the Dog’s Cemetry has been completed. Considerable work to the headstones was undertaken in the 1970s, but unfortunately the resin technique was failing. 
The important next phase of the conservation work in the gardens at Wrest will focus on flood control. Over recent years, the park and its water features have become largely divorced from the original hydraulic design through the introduction of modern short term solutions, and the risk of flooding has become a concern.

Detail of Monument in Dog Cemetery The hydrology project will include clearing the drainage ditches in the woodland panels, lowering Old Park Weir and dredging Old Park Water. Significantly, the removal of any serious risk of flooding or water-logging will save the existing plant life. It will also enable the re-planting to begin that will help to restore the magnificent historic views of the gardens, including those of Old Park Water.