Keele Hall, Staffordshire, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

Mid-18th-century landscape park by William Emes associated with a country house, with improvement of grounds and gardens in early to mid-19th century by W. S. Gilpin and W. A. Nesfield.

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

The village of Keele lies about 4km west of Newcastle-under-Lyme, itself on the western edge of the Stoke-on-Trent conurbation. Keele Hall and its park are to the east of Keele village, the Hall being about one kilometre from the parish church. To the north-west the park is bounded by the Keele to Newcastle road, and to the south-west by Lymes Road, a metalled track opened in 1840 to replace an older Keele to Butterton right of way. The east boundary follows field edges. The highest ground in the park occurs near its north-eastern extremity, a site now occupied by the university’s Observatory. From here it falls away to the south-west, with the lowest ground occurring at the southern end of the park, in a small valley which runs south-east from Keele Hall. The registered area comprises around 250 hectares.

REFERENCES Used by English Heritage

Keele Hall Gardens: Proposals for Restoration, (Gillespies 1997)

K Goodway, Landscapes and Gardens at Keele, 1700-1900, in C Harrison (editor), Essays on the History of Keele (1986), pp 67-102

Maps

OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1880

OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1889

Archival items

Stoke Edith Papers: Nesfield design for parterre (Hereford and Worcester Record Office) [information from Dr Keith Goodway]