News

Plans to restore Wollaton Hall’s centuries-old walled gardens approved

By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter

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Plans to refurbish and restore Wollaton Hall’s centuries-old walled gardens have been approved by the city council.

Back in March 2025 the plans were submitted by a collaborative group to Nottingham City Council. These were approved on Friday (May 30).

Proposals also include supporting buildings along with the restoration of windows, doors, roofing, walls and fireplaces.

The garden dates back to the 16th Century and was used to provide fruit and vegetables to the hall and its household.

Volunteers are currently restoring the four-acre garden under the banner of the ‘Wollaton Walled Garden Project’.

It is a community-led collaboration between the Friends of Wollaton Park group and the Wollaton Hall Historical Society, which are supported by the City Council’s park management staff.

Planning documents state the site is in “desperate need of repair”.

Wollaton West Councillor, Steve Battlemuch (Lab), who helped establish the Friends of Wollaton Park group, previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the walls were a “broken down mess in 2015”.

He said: “It’s still not the finished article, but it is already a different place.

“Hundreds and hundreds of volunteers have worked on it. People were saying you would need millions of pounds and that you’d never raise that through fundraising, but they decided to chip away bit by bit.

“You’ve now got the incredible cucumber house, and the Gardner’s Cottage. The potential is massive.

“My view is that we want to get to the point where that area of the park is open seven days a week for all to visit, not just through guided tours.”

He said there are parts of the garden that are “dangerous” but hopes it can be an “integral part of Wollaton Park” in a few years time.

Now plans are approved, the Potting Sheds will be restored to a working condition along with a heritage dormitory, thought to date back to the 18th Century, by replacing the slate roof, brickwork and windows.

Another brick structure, thought to date back to the 19th Century, recently collapsed and could be used to support more than 100 garden volunteers as it has a working toilet, drainage and an electrical supply.

Documents say: “The potting sheds are seen as having both an educational part to play for the kitchen garden, and provide the volunteers with additional work space and for the public, particularly visiting children – to gain an understanding of food production of a previous age.

“The longer-term goal is to demonstrate how the heritage of these buildings can also embrace current ecological goals by incorporating solar panels systems for heat and light taking over from the existing mains without compromising the visual history.”

A backlog in maintenance at Wollaton Hall itself has left it vulnerable to water damage. Hundreds of thousands of pounds are currently being spent repairing it.

The council says Historic England visited Wollaton Hall in 2022 to assess the areas of the building which had become a cause for concern.

From this, the Grade I-listed Elizabethan Mansion, built between 1580 and 1588, being added to Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register.