Historic Opening for Historic Garden

The opening of Goldsborough Hall’s gardens for the first time in 80 years has been a hailed a resounding success as part of the National Garden Scheme.

More than 1,600 people visited the gardens between noon and 4pm on Sunday 28 March, raising over £6,000 for the charity that supports Macmillan Nurses and Marie Curie Cancer.

"We wanted to do our best and raise as much as we could for the NGS but never expected anywhere near this many people," says owner Mark Oglesby.

The number of visitors arriving at the village caused traffic hold-ups, backing up to the Knaresborough roundabout and towards the A1.

“A combination of lovely sunny weather and the fact that we had not opened the gardens before, meant that visitors just kept coming. For a short time, this created some fairly significant traffic issues as everyone tried to get in at once. We would like to thank everyone for their support and wish to reiterate that the traffic was hopefully a one off for the village and all for a good cause. Despite the best efforts of our six traffic marshals, within an hour of opening our car park the village was full – there was just no way could we have predicted that.”

The March opening was a preview for the grand opening of the gardens on Sunday 25 July, noon to 5pm, when all the flowers will be out in the long borders. "We would like to apologise to those people who didn’t get to see the gardens on Sunday. We now have time to rethink the traffic management and will be working with the parish council, local police and asking local farmers for help with parking, so that everyone can enjoy the open day," says Mark.

Visitors who made it to the Hall were able to walk up the Lime Tree Walk, planted by royalty in the 1920s, to view the daffodils and enjoy a light lunch or a cream tea at the house. Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate kindly sponsored the tea for the event. St.Mary’s Church, Goldsborough, situated alongside the Hall, where Princess Mary’s son was christened in1923 was also open to the public.

“Despite the traffic problems, hundreds of people enjoyed their visit and were happy that they had contributed to a very good cause,” says Mark.

“We have spent the last four years restoring the grounds and some of the hall’s 40 bedrooms so it was fantastic to share our work with so many people,” says Mark.

In order to secure its future, the Oglesbys now offer the historic hall as a venue for exclusive weddings and functions with luxury 5* guest accommodation. Guests can book a room for dinner bed and breakfast or just have a garden tour or afternoon tea. Goldsborough Hall has also just been listed in The Times as one of the top 20 places to stay in the UK.