The Menagerie is a very unusual house and garden.
In the 18th century Lord Halifax kept his private zoo on this site, surrounded by a moat. An outstanding rococo folly was was built in the grounds in the 1750s by Thomas Wright of Durham. This was restored to its former glory in 1975 by the architectural historian and writer, Gervase Jackson-Stops, who made it his home.
The plasterwork in the main room includes the signs of the zodiac.
The garden was largely created after 1992 by Ian Kirby. This incorporates four of the earlier fishponds which are now formal pools with fountains and there is also a wetland and bog area.
Around the house the planting is formal but the south front is planted with herbs, Mediterranean plants and masses of lavender. The espaliered fruit trees trained up wires reflect the ornamental scrolls that adorn the house. Elsewhere there are herbaceous borders and colourful shrubberies with serpentine paths.
The garden has two remarkable thatched arbours. One is circular and classical and the other is triangular and Gothic. There is also a grotto lined with shells and minerals where Orpheus plays to the animals.
