Description:Biddulph Grange Garden was created by James Bateman between 1841 and the 1860s for his collection of plants from around the world. The garden is a global journey, with an Italian garden, the Americas which are represented around the lake, the Himalayan Glen, a Victorian version of China and into Egypt via the Stumpery.
The Stumpery at Biddulph Grange Garden is the oldest in Britain, it was built around 1856 using root-work. The tree stumps and gnarled and rugged roots make a framework that provided Bateman with assorted conditions to grow a variety of plants including ivys and ferns.
Stumperies were popular features in Victorian gardens; Alton Towers had one and Joseph Paxton designed one at Chatsworth. In later years stumperies and rusticity fell out of favour.
In 1923 Biddulph Grange became a hospital, and remained so until it was made a Conservation Area in the late 1970s. The National Trust acquired the estate in the early 1980s and began an extensive programme of restoration. Biddulph Grange Garden has since been restored to its former Victorian glory and is a popular visitor destination.