Burton Constable, Sproatley, East Yorkshire, England

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

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

The Constable family owned the site from the 12th century and there are records of a park in the 14th century. By 1578 the park had been enlarged and at about that time the Constables made it their principal seat. William Constable (1721-91), who inherited in 1747, was a noted plant collector who assembled an extensive botanical collection at Burton Constable and a Hortus Siccus of at least thirteen volumes, of which ten survive. Of particular note is his establishment of a flower garden near the Hall and his interest in native plants to which he devoted a segregated bed in his garden. He embraced Linnaean botany and employed Linnaeus' botanical artist G D Ehret (1708-70) to draw flower pictures for him. Constable commissioned plans for improvements to the park dated 1755, but these were not immediately executed. Designs were commissioned from Lancelot Brown (1716-83) in 1767 and Thomas White (1736-1811) in 1768. These plans were rejected but Brown was retained and prepared new proposals. Of these only a plan of around 1769 showing the garden and area immediately around it survives. Brown visited Burton Constable at regular intervals over the period 1769 to 1782 to check on progress and attend to details. A series of estate maps show the development of the landscape from 1621 to 1827. The site remained in the ownership of the Constable family until the late 20th century when part of it was taken over by the Burton Constable Foundation.