The Gardens Entrance, Alton Towers

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Date:1910 - 1920 (c.)

Description:A postcard view of the entrance to the Gardens and the Memorial to the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury at Alton Towers. The Memorial was erected in about 1830 by his nephew John, the 16th Earl. It is a copy of the Choragic Monument or Monument to Lysacrates in Athens (compare with the Lanthorn of Demosthenes at Shugborough) and is made of cast iron. It contains a marble bust of the 15th Earl by Peter Hollins of Birmingham, with the inscription 'he made the desert smile', one of the various features and themed gardens including Dutch and Italian Gardens, the Chinese Pagoda Fountain, the Swiss Cottage, Stonehenge and the Gothic Prospect Tower. At the top centre left is a glimpse of the Gothic Prospect Tower and on the right the Pagoda Fountain.

Alton Towers was the home of the Talbot family, Earls of Shrewsbury. It was built between about 1810 and 1852.

The 15th Earl began adapting an existing 16th or 17th century house, Alveton (Alton) Lodge, in about 1810. A number of architects were involved, including Thomas Hopper, William Hollis and Thomas Allason. The new enlarged house was known as Alton Abbey by the 1820s.

The 16th Earl succeeded in 1827, and over the next 25 years greatly expanded the house which became known as Alton Towers. His architects included Thomas Fradgley of Uttoxeter, Joseph Potter and A.W.N. Pugin. After the Earl's death in 1852 a great sale of the contents took place in 1857.

The estate also boasted excellent gardens, which the next Earl began to capitalize on in the late 1860s. He hired John Mason Cook, the son of Thomas Cook who was responsible for creating the Victorian travel industry, to promote them and was overwhelmed by their early success. The first day excursion attracted 10,000 visitors.

The Chetwynd-Talbots lived at the house and partially refurnished it until they left in 1924, and another sale followed. A group of local businessmen bought it and developed it as a tourist attraction. During the Second World War, until 1951, it was occupied by the Army as an Officer Cadet Training Unit. In 1952 all the remaining fixtures and fittings were stripped and sold, leaving the house in a semi-derelict condition.

In 1990 the Tussauds Group purchased the house and grounds and began developing it into the hugely successful Adventure Theme Park it is now. Some of the interiors are gradually being restored.