Painshill, Surrey, England

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

Landscaped pleasure grounds and park laid out between 1738 and 1773 by the Honorable Charles Hamilton.

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

The roughly triangular site of about 86 hectares lies 1.5km west of Cobham, with the A3 forming its north-west boundary. The meandering River Mole forms the south and east boundary of the park and a short length of Portsmouth Road abuts its north-east corner. The site is hilly, rising from the Mole towards Wood Hill, and in the north and west towards the A3. Between these areas is Hamilton's original lake which was later extended to the south-east. The high ground at the west end of the site is infertile heathland, which extends beyond the site to the north and west. To the south of the River Mole is agricultural land.

REFERENCES Used by English Heritage

Note: There is a wealth of material about this site. The Painshill Park Trust maintains
an extensive bibliography. The key references are cited below.

Country Life, 1 (6 March 1897), p 239; 15 (19 March 1904), p 414; 166 (13 December 1979), p 2332; 169 (12 March 1981), p 638; 195 (4 January 2001), pp 28-35

Garden History 2, no 1 (1973), p 39; 8, no 1 (1980), p 91; 11, no 2 (1983), p 112; 27, no 2 (1999), pp 238-43

B Jones, Follies & Grottoes (1974), pp 39-44

Painshill, Walton and Weybridge Local History Society Monograph 23, (1986)

M Symes, Fairest Scenes: Five Great Surrey Gardens (1988), pp 36-49

A Guide to Painshill, guidebook, (Painshill Park Trust 1998)

Maps

John Rocque, Plan of Painshill, 1744 (MR 294), (PRO)

OS 6" to 1 mile: 2nd edition published 1897' 3rd edition published 1920; 1934 edition

OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition surveyed 1870; 2nd edition published 1896; 3rd edition published 1914
 

Description written: February 2000

Amended: May 2003

Edited: October 2002