Lodge Park and Sherborne Archives
Lodge Park, Aldsworth, Cheltenham, Bristol, GL54 3PP
Lodge Park is situated in the Sherborne Estate and is England’s only surviving 17th-century deer course and grandstand. Sherborne was owned by the Dutton family from 1551. In the early 1630s, John 'Crump' Dutton, fuelled by his passion for deer coursing, gambling, banqueting and entertaining, built the grandstand of Lodge Park.
In 1726, renowned landscape designer Charles Bridgeman redesigned the parkland at Lodge Park. Although very little of his planting remains today, his designs are still largely intact. In fact, this is the only surviving Bridgeman landscape not to have been overlaid by the better-remembered designers William Kent and Capability Brown. The Landscape is in the process of being restored by the National Trust.
The National Trust are hosting the Sherborne Village Archive, linked to the Cheltenham Civic Society, for the open day. Representatives from the archive will be giving a talk on deer coursing and the history of Lodge Park's paddock course in the Great Room at 12pm. They will also have documents and items from their collection on display.
Andrew Danson, the project manager for the Bridgeman Restoration, will be leading a guided tour through the landscape at 2pm. The walk and talk will reveal not only its history but also the extensive work that the National Trust has undertaken to restore it to its Bridgeman design, with opportunities to ask questions.
Timings & Tours
- Saturday 13 September:
- 1100-1600, Talk 1200, Tour 1400
Location & directions
Lodge Park, Aldsworth, Cheltenham, Bristol, GL54 3PP
- Contact on day:
- National Trust - Lodge Park and Sherborne Estate Office
- Telephone number:
- +441451844130
Booking information
- Pre-booking requirement:
- Pre-booking not required
Accessibility details
There is partial wheelchair access into the ground floor of the building via temporary ramp. Please note that the talk will be held up the staircase in the Great Room on the second floor. There is no wheelchair access to this room. Only assistance dogs are allowed inside the building. The Bridgeman Landscape is not pathed and the surface is often grassy and uneven. The tour is 40-50 minutes long, allowing for lots of stopping to talk. Dogs on leads are welcome on the tour
Additional information
The site will be open to visitors to explore with the experts' tour and talk being an optional part of the day.
- Max no of people per tour:
- 50
- Est. tour duration:
- 1 hour(s) 0 minute(s)
