Burton is a pretty village near Neston in Cheshire. Our Civic Society group was given a tour by the Friends of Burton Manor Gardens. The walled garden dates back to the early 20th century being re-designed in 1905 for Henry Neville Gladstone by Thomas Mawson. The gardens and the Edwardian Glasshouse were restored in 2010 by the Friends group with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Burton Manor near Neston is a Grade 2 listed building once owned by the family of Prime Minister William Gladstone. The sandstone building dates back to 1805 and remained in the family for two decades. For sixty years the house and grounds were used as a residential adult education centre. There were 27 bedrooms, a billiard room, a library, a music room and an orangery. It lay disused from 2007 before Liverpool City Council finally put it up for sale in 2014. It is now nearly completely restored and contains refurbished offfices. There is a restored cafe in the grounds, which serves breakfast, lunch, light bites and cakes.
The dedicated community group of Friends work all year round to preserve the grounds so that the gardens can be enjoyed by the public. Also, in the grounds is an early 19th century underground ice house, which is a listed building with resident bats. I picked up some books to take home from the Friends second-hand bookshop. The volunteers will be happy to welcome you.
With such pleasant suroundings and beautiful view it is well worth a visit.