Madresfield Court, Great Malvern, England

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

In the later Middle Ages the manor of Madresfield was held by the Bracys. Joan, heiress of the family married Thomas Lygon in the early 15th century and the manor has remained in the family ever since. In 1806 William Lygon, Member of Parliament for Worcestershire 1780-1806, was created Lord Beauchamp and in 1815 Viscount Elmley and Earl Beauchamp. Several other heads of the family also sat in Parliament.

The development of the gardens in the 19th century, which went hand-in-hand with the enlargement of the house, owed much to the successive head gardeners William Cox (1840s-1883) and William Crump (1883-1919).

Evelyn Waugh was a friend of the Lygons, and the Marchmain family of Brideshead in Brideshead Revisited is thought to be partly based on them.