Knowsley Estate: Hall, Park, Gardens and Safari
I am so delighted in this episode to be talking to Dr David Jacques and John Phibbs MBE. Both are independent landscape historians and experts on the development of the park at Knowsley Hall through the centuries, with particular emphasis on the work by Robert Adam and Capability Brown, who both worked for the 12th Earl of Derby. I also talk to Dr Clemency Fisher, who is an expert on Edward Lear and the 13th Earl of Derby and who curated the exhibition called ‘The Earl and the Pussycat’ at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool during 2002.
David explains how the 9th Earl improved the gardens enormously, and then the 10th Earl built the racecourse in the park which survived for ten years. Recently John and David found the foundations of Riding Hill House, which was a summer house at the top of Riding Hill that was used as a grandstand to watch the races from and was a pleasure house in which to eat and drink. John and David tell me that the foundations contain a cellar left on the site, but unfortunately, I haven't managed to find any wine in it – yet. The 11th Earl built the Octagon, which is an octagonal temple built in 1755, designed by an unknown architect, but very much in the style of William Kent (1685-1748). The site of the Octagon was clearly intended as an eye-catching ornament to be seen from the enfilade of rooms on the east side of the hall, and it is very much still used today for picnics and lunches. Lancelot Brown, known as ‘Capability Brown’, wrote in his account books details of the work he did for the 12th Earl and the princely sums he charged for designs for a walled kitchen garden, the gardens and a general plan of the park. Robert Adam designed and built the Dairy in 1774, also for the 12th Earl, but unfortunately that was pulled down in the 1950s. However, the Aviaries, Bridge Lodge and Boat House Lodge, all designed by William Burn in 1836-40, still very much survive and the Boat House is lived in today. Robert Adam’s design for transforming Knowsley Hall into a neo-gothic palace was never realised as the 12th Countess, Lady Elizabeth Hamilton, ran off with the 3rd Duke of Dorset, and Lord Derby drastically curtailed his expenditure.
Above: A view of the parkland around Knowsley Hall
But it is the 13th Earl’s vision for the park that is still in evidence today. He developed a large menagerie on the estate which was at the time the largest private zoo in the world, with over 1000 birds and 350 species of mammals. The day-to-day running of the aviary and menagerie was documented by Thomas Moore, who started out as a stable boy, but ended up looking after the fields full of antelope, elands, lamas, guanacos, alpacas and vicuñas. The 13th Earl was way ahead of his time, interested in the breeding of endangered species to benefit mankind, as well as protecting them from extinction - still the ethos of today’s Knowsley Safari Park. Living history is very much continuing the 13th Earl’s legacy today. In the 1950s the well-known ornithologist Peter Scott used the notes that Lord Derby wrote to help with his breeding programme at Slimbridge, his wildfowl reserve in Gloucestershire. As President of the Zoological Society in London and President of the Linnean Society, the 13th Earl created a foundation for the study of animals and his collection is still used by scientists today.
Above: The 13th Earl’s Menagerie in the gardens at Knowsley Hall, 1830s
As Lord Stanley, the 13th Earl was responsible for naming several new species like the black winged lovebird, the Stanley Crane and the Derby Eland to name just a few. He built up a network of agents to import new species and financed expeditions to many corners of the world, to improve on the depth of knowledge of zoology. Just as Knowsley Safari does today, supporting the Wild Camel Protection Foundation in the Gobi Desert and providing protection for forests and wildlife in Cambodia. We also support research into the breeding of Amur tigers and repatriating Père David deer into Mongolia where they were extinct. When the 13th Earl died in 1851 his collection of animals was auctioned off by his politically ambitious son the 14th Earl, and much of the living animals went to Regent's Park Zoo in London and Queen Victoria’s collection, whilst the dead specimens were bequeathed to the people of Liverpool and formed the Liverpool Museum which is still one of the most important collections of birds to this day and still studied by ornithologists. The 13th Earl published in 1846 and 1850 a two-volume catalogue of his collection under the title ‘Gleanings from the Menagerie and Aviary at Knowsley Hall’.
One of the most well-known surviving legacies of Edward Lear’s time at Knowsley was the book of limericks and nonsense poems that he composed for all the children that played in the nursery at Knowsley Hall and are still read as children’s’ bedtime stories today, complete with Edward Lear’s wonderful caricatures and illustrations.
Above: Knowsley Safari Park
Knowsley Safari Park was started in 1971 by the 18th Earl of Derby, Edward John, my uncle-in-law. The whole concept is that the humans should be the ones caged in their cars, whilst the 700 odd species of animals roam freely. I like to think that the 13th Earl would be proud of how we are continuing his ethos and vision to protect endangered wildlife and educate humans about the wonders of nature.
I very much hope you will enjoy listening to my final episode. Listen in here.