TEMPLE NEWSAM ESTATE / MILLENNIUM WOODLAND

Description : The Temple Newsam Estate contains the second largest of Leeds City Council's Woodland holdings; the largest being the Chevin Forest Park at Otley (Forest of Leeds North).

The site is mentioned in the Domesday Book as being in the ownership of two Anglo-Saxons, although in 1155 it was granted to the Knights Templar, an order of soldier monks who kept open the pilgrim routes to the Holy Land.

Apart from a vast array of wildlife throughout the site, there are two Sites of Archaeological Interest - Colton medieval village and Grimm's Ditch, an earthwork which once protected the Kingdom of Elmet.

The original mansion on the site is known as the 'Hampton Court of the North' and was built in 1488. Many of the original features still survive today.

Records show that in 1710, York's William Etty designed and planted much of the estates woodland with subsequent work being planned by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown during the 1760s.

During the early 1990s an avenue of trees and whole new woodland were planted to the south of the estate to mark the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Airborne Forces.

In partnership with the Yorkshire Evening Post and its readers, a new Millennium Woodland was created during 1999/2000. YEP readers sponsored the planting and maintenance of four and a half thousand young trees which will mature to form a valued landscape feature and recreational resource.

Access and facilities : The estate provides full public access and offers a wide range of visitor facilities
including :

Temple Newsam House, the birthplace of Lord Darnley, husband of Mary Queen of Scots, which contains superb interiors, furniture, artwork and museum pieces spanning the centuries. A gift shop is also located on the site.

Home Farm, a working farm that houses a farm museum, which is a nationally important rare breeds centre.

The Temple Newsam Ranger Service provides a wide range of visitor services including an education programme focusing upon environmental heritage and farming activities that are all suitable for school visits and are related to the National Curriculum.

The site also boasts large gardens, and old walled fruit garden, greenhouses, National Plant Collections, Victorian fountains, Herb Gardens, Avenue Ponds, lakes and a Stable Courtyard.

The Estate offers extensive waymarked and unmarked trails including a popular boundary bridleway, which links with the local bridleway network.

Numerous car parks are situated around the site.

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