Ragley Hall

Ragley Hall was first opened in 1958 and the State Rooms were gradually restored to their former glory. The 8th Marquess made his mark on Ragley by commissioning Graham Rust to create a modern mural, The Temptation, in the South Staircase Hall which took fourteen years to complete and features several family members and pets.

Ragley of the 21st century is a thriving country estate with a successful Farm, Butchers and Sawmill as well as a portfolio of Properties. Ragley Hall, Park & Gardens are run as a tourist attraction and events venue as well as being a family home to the 9th Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford and their four children.

Historically, Ragley was given to Evesham Abbey by the King of Mercia in AD 711. Seven hundred years later the Abbey sold Ragley to the Rous family who built an embattled castle thought to be on the site of what is the Rose Garden today.

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir John Conway came from Conway Castle in Wales to marry the heiress to Arrow, just outside Ragley Park. He then bought Ragley Castle and its lands: the last time Ragley has changed hands by purchase. It was Sir John’s grandson, the first Earl of Conway, who engaged Robert Hooke to design the Palladian House which can be seen today. Hooke, a contemporary of Christopher Wren, was a notable architect and scientist and of the several great houses he built only Ragley remains.

Gardens and Grounds

Kids will have hours of fun in the Adventure Wood with 3D maze, aerial slide, rope bridges and climbing apparatus. And if you like to explore, then don your walking shoes or wellies and head to the Woodland Walk; a haven for indigenous flora and fauna. Dogs are welcome too - woof!

We are a Forest school and welcome parties of any size and age.

We also offer water-based activities on our lake.

Ragley Gardens occupy 10 hectares and surround the magnificent Ragley Hall.

Although the 170 hectares of parkland were designed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (1716– 1783) during the 18th century, little is known about the gardens prior to 1873. However, it is thought that the Capability landscape came right up to the Hall itself until garden designer and outstanding horticulturist Robert Marnock (1800-1889)  enclosed the present 10 hectares as pleasure grounds, planting them up with trees and shrubs around meandering path ways and  created a formal Victorian flower garden on the west side of the hall.

The bare bones of Marnock’s late 19th century garden remain in evidence today and have matured into a rich palette for nature with mature trees predominating throughout, producing a strong soil for new developments.

An important aim in the management and maintenance of the gardens is to optimise habitat and food resources for insects, birds and small mammals. The result is a garden in which traditional horticultural features incorporate, and exist alongside, valuable wildlife habitat.

The success of this naturalistic approach demonstrates that it is possible to maintain the horticultural interest and aesthetic appeal of a garden, without compromising native flora and fauna or limiting the biodiversity necessary for a healthy garden.

Schools

Outdoor Learning enables children to interact with and create a better understanding of the natural environment. Our educational activities aim to support and enhance the learning experience and are linked to the National Curriculum Programmes of Study for Key Stages 1 and 2. Activity Days can be tailored to suit the learning objectives of the class but here is an outline of our most popular days.

Outdoor Learning Activity Days

• Growing Day - includes garden vocabulary and planting
• Habitats Day - includes pond dipping and mini-beast hunting
• Teddy Bear Day - includes outdoor jigsaws and teddy bear hunt
• Woodland Day - includes woodland habitat and tree identification
• Orienteering and Teambuilding Day - includes orienteering skills and teambuilding activities
• Explorer Day - includes expedition skills, den building and survival skills
• Environmental Art Day - includes sculpture jigsaws, drawing and sculpture making