You are here: Home / Information Pages / Lakeside Lifestyle

Lakeside Lifestyle

 Changing a Landscape Capability Brown's redesign completely changed the first glimpse visitors saw of the house, creating a vast new lake crossed by a new road leading to the grand house.

This huge new lake took over two years to finish despite having a huge workforce, and incorporated a series of  medieval fishponds at the North end of the lake where William now commissioned th new Menagerie to stand.

A new road from James Wyatt's lodges crossed the lake by the bridge, offering tantalising glimpses of the house. As their carriage swept round to the grand East Front entrance, the sheer scale of William's wealth was showcased fully. Today we're working to restore Brown's vision for the lake, removing alder trees and bushes from the waterline.

By 1818, a small bathing pool had been built by the lake. A small copse of trees around it meant ladies could bathe privately - gentlemen would use the lake!

Cold water was thought to be excellent for health. A small set of stairs allowed easy access to the pool.

Though restored by the John Chichester-Constable in 2009, we have little detailed information on the bathing pool. A similar example from Llanhydrock in Cornwall (right) gives hints of what ours may have been like.

The islands you see in the lake would have been the site for many summer picnics and tea parties, housed small summer-houses after the family and their guests had crossed to the islands in rowing boats.

Of course, the lakes were also a key source of gentlemanly sports such as fishing and shooting.

By 1818, a small bathing pool had been built by the lake. A small copse of trees around it meant ladies could bathe privately - gentlemen would use the lake!

Cold water was thought to be excellent for health. A small set of stairs allowed easy access to the pool.

Though restored by the John Chichester-Constable in 2009, we have little detailed information on the bathing pool. A similar example from Llanhydrock in Cornwall (right) gives hints of what ours may have been like.

The islands you see in the lake would have been the site for many summer picnics and tea parties, housed small summer-houses after the family and their guests had crossed to the islands in rowing boats.

Of course, the lakes were also a key source of gentlemanly sports such as fishing and shooting.

Lakeside Walk, Burton Constable, Hull, East Yorkshire

Wildlife and Conservation 

Today, staff work hard to revive Brown's visions for the lake, and to ensure that wildlife can thrive here. 3 Recently, rare creatures such as otters, kingfishers and great crested newts have been sighted here. More common residents include the geese, ducks and moorhens that have been frequent visitors ever since the lake was dug.

In this section
English Landscape
Medieval Burton Constable
Georgian Landscape Architecture
The Whale Belt
Restoring Our Woodland
Lakeside Lifestyle
Above & Below Stairs
A Living Landscape
Protecting Nature
Powering The Estate