The garden mounts of Little Moreton Hall: their histories, and new discoveries

Atherton, Nathan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2350-6360 and Edwards, Benjamin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3518-2193 (2025) The garden mounts of Little Moreton Hall: their histories, and new discoveries. Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes. pp. 1-15. ISSN 1460-1176

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Abstract

This article discusses the findings of an archaeological survey conducted in 2022 by staff and students from Manchester Metropolitan University on behalf of the National Trust-owned property of Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England. As part of this survey, two garden mounts, also known as prospect mounds, underwent a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey and photogrammetric 3D reconstruction. The results of this survey suggested that both mounts were much more intricate features of landscaping than they first appeared, with terraced designs undetectable to the naked eye due to overgrowth and the loss of their original shape through weathering. This paper not only focuses on the survey’s findings but also the histories of the mounts and how their usage and interpretation have changed over time by examining descriptive, illustrative, and photographic sources since the nineteenth century, to bring attention to these underappreciated landscape features of the property.