Ellesmere Lake

Historical elements

Early estate plans from 1848 and 1851 show two ponds, located side by side, occupying a much smaller footprint of land than that covered by Ellesmere Lake in its heyday. Lord Francis Egerton, owner of Worsley New Hall at the time, joined the two ponds together and greatly enlarged them, to create a beautiful boating and fishing lake at the foot of the terraces designed by William Nesfield.

By 1875 a grotto had been built on the largest of the lake’s three islands and an ornate bridge linked this island to the northern shore.

The lake was emptied and left to dry before 3,000 cubic metres of silt and debris were dredged from the floor. To make it watertight the entire lake was re-puddled with clay from the estate, the stone walls were repaired and clay was used to re-profile the lake’s edges and provide suitable shelves for shallow-water aquatic planting.

In the winter of 2020, the lake re-filled in record time when widespread flooding was recorded across the country. 

Ellesmere Lake is planted with a mix of ornamentals including water irises, waterlilies, water crowfoot and monkey flower.