Wortley Hall

We’ve been for lunch today with a friend and it was very good (even though they had a wedding party there which was making the bar rather full).  I thought I’d take the opportunity to photograph the sculpture before the wedding party came outside for photos.  I’ve been photographing this sculpture as part as the ArtUK sculpture project but I’m not sure whether they will want to include it or not.  I can’t find any information about it at the moment and it seems possible that it was acquired on someone’s `Grand Tour’.  We believe the gardens were laid out under the direction of Lady Caroline Creighton and although it’s possible that the statue was brought back be a relative it also seems possible that it was purchased on the open market.   Wortley Hall - Gardens

Unfortunately we also came across an area where they have stripped out all of the shrubs and where the adjacent trees are beginning to turn brown.  It appears they have an outbreak of a fungal disease called Phytophthora ramorum which causes extensive damage, so we hope we haven’t brought it back to our garden.  Although there were warning signs around advising people to stick to the paths, they really weren't obvious and they weren’t on children or dogs radar.  There was a disinfectant tray at the entrance to the gardens but it was dry.  I guess we should talk to the hall reception if we want them to do more.