His vision created a dramatic hillside garden, featuring a heavily-wooded area including a network of footpaths that provide the terraces that give the Terraced Gardens their name. There’s a man-made ravine and cascade, with several bridges and fords crossing it. The upper section of the park contains the remains of the formal lawns and gardens which surrounded Lord Leverhulme’s residences. These include a Japanese Garden and lake, an Italian Garden and lake, and the former Orchestra Lawn. The park contains many dramatic stone-built structures, including a magnificent 7-arched bridge, a number of Summer Houses and Viewing Platforms, and the haunting building known as the Pigeon Tower.

Today, the original structure of the Gardens remains but ornamental planting has been replaced by woodland. It’s a magical place of winding footpaths and unexpected surprises, much loved by local people and visitors from across the region.

The Gardens are an incredibly significant, culturally valuable piece of landscape. It is unique within the region, as a hillside garden of such scale, and it has national significance derived from its designer, Thomas Mawson.