Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist wins Salford hall brief

The Royal Horticultural Society has selected renowned landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith, eight times RHS Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner and three times as best in show, to take forward plans for the RHS Garden Bridgewater at Worsley New Hall in Salford.

Stuart-Smith has been appointed to create an overall masterplan for the 156-acre garden which will bring back to life the lost historic grounds at Worsley New Hall.

As well as public show gardens, Stuart-Smith has designed a number of large private gardens including a new garden at Windsor Castle to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

Walled garden at Worsley New Hall will be restored

Walled garden at Worsley New Hall will be restored

Stuart-Smith said: “I have known the amazing site that is to become RHS Garden Bridgewater for some time and it is really remarkable. It is a great honour and a huge challenge to be able to contribute to this very exciting project. There is amazing potential here to make something innovative, relevant and distinctly different.”

The masterplan will set out the vision for RHS Garden Bridgewater, assessing its current condition and outlining the concept for its future. Highlights already proposed include the restoration of the 10-acre walled kitchen garden, one of the largest in the UK; developing historic features such as the tree-lined avenue and reinterpreting the famous Nesfield Terraces, which sit between the lake and the site of the lost Worsley New Hall.

The garden will be a result of collaboration between the owners of the historic estate, Peel Land & Property, Salford City Council and the RHS.

Salford City Mayor Ian Stewart said: “Tom really is at the top of his game and it is a measure of how important this garden is, both locally and nationally, that the RHS have chosen him. I’m delighted to have such a prestigious landscape architect to bring this vision to life that generations of Salfordians will be able to work in, learn and enjoy.”

The garden is due to re-open in 2019.

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Very exciting project for the whole North West, especially interesting with the Egerton/Tatton connection. Well done Peel / RHS!

By Henry Brooks, Tatton Estate Management Ltd

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