Усадьба Трентам: История и сады старинной резиденции.

Trentham Estate in the village of Trentham, Staffordshire, England, is a visitor attraction on the southern fringe of the city of Stoke on Trent. An Augustinian priory originally occupied the site, followed by a convent. Trentham Priory occupied land on the Trentham estate from the 11th century until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

The property was sold in 1540 to James Leveson, a Wolverhampton wool merchant. while he was working on the rebuild of the Palace of Westminster. He was commissioned by the 2nd Duke of Sutherland. The focal point of the building was a campanile clock tower. The original approach to the hall was from the west, and an Italianate grand entrance was part of the western front. The one storey arcade range is semicircular with side wings. It was made of plastered brick and ashlar, and had unfluted Ionic columns on each side of its bays, as well as a balustrade above the cornice. The centre has a three arched entrance with porte cochère projects, and a coat of arms is carved above. The right wing incorporates an orangery that was originally built in 1808 by Heathcote Tatham. Barry spent over ten years improving the house and added a new block including state bedrooms and dressing rooms, as well as servant's quarters, a sculpture gallery, and a clock tower. This interesting complex, with its clock tower, is generally known as the Riding School, designed in 1840 and built between 1841 and 1850. It stands on the perimeter of a large cobbled stableyard and represents the last major addition to, and almost sole survivor of, the once exciting and impressive Trentham Hall. In 1851, it was described as being an "elegant mansion". It had been completely rebuilt in the previous 14 years, and had a stone front. It housed an extensive collection of paintings. This colossal statue, designed by Winks and sculptured by Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey, surmounts a plain column of stone on a tiered pedestal. The monument was raised in 1834 at the instigation of the second Duke, a year after the first Duke's death. A wide range of possible monuments was put forward, but Chantrey, with whom Loch, the duke's chief agent, had been in touch, recommended Sir Charles Barry for the design of the monument.

Trentham Gardens are formal Italianate gardens, part of an English landscape park. The gardens are set within a large area of woodland. Together these currently together cover some The estate is a Grade II* registered park and garden.

The gardens were designed as a serpentine park by Capability Brown from 1758 onwards, overlying an earlier formal design attributed to Charles Bridgeman. Trentham Gardens are now principally known for the surviving formal gardens laid out in the 1840s by Sir Charles Barry, which have recently been restored. In 2012 the Trentham Estate was selected as the site of a Royal Diamond Jubilee wood, and a new woodland of 200,000 native oak trees will be planted on the estate. Successful garden designers Tom Stuart Smith, Piet Oudolf and Nigel Dunnett have collaborated on the garden redesign. The overall aim is to avoid noisy theme park like attractions, and instead to offer "authentic experiences" to older people and younger children. Each year on bonfire night, visitors pay to see a bonfire with fireworks, food and fairground rides. Wire sculptures of fairies by Robin Wright have been installed in the gardens. In December 2008 a transportable Ferris wheel was opened on site for tourists to get an overhead view of the gardens, the estate, and out over the city. It was removed in 2009. In December 2022, the estate announced it had gained a licence from Natural England to host four Eurasian beavers from Spring 2023. This would involve enclosing the lake area and gardens to prevent the animals escaping.

Trentham Gardens hosted the first ever Mountain Mayhem, a 24 hour race which included some of the biggest mountain bike brands of all time including Raleigh and Giant; 120 other teams also entered. The course was just under 10 mile (16 km) long. The winning team was the Raleigh Pro Team managed by Gary Coltman with riders Barrie Clarke, Elliot Baxter, Carl Sturgeon and Ian Cuthbertson. The Giant Team came second. They were managed by Martin Earley who also rode in the team along with Jamie Norfolk, Robin Seymour and Robert Miller. There were only teams and no solo entrants. From 2001 to 2004 the Sleepless in the Saddle mountain bike races were held at Trentham.

The gardens were the site of the Trentham Ballroom, which opened in 1931 and closed in 2002. During the Second World War it was used by the Bankers' Clearing House for the clearing of the country's cheques. In the 1960s and 1970s many dance, rock and pop bands performed at Trentham Ballroom, including The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Who, Iron Maiden and Led Zeppelin. The ballroom also hosted degree ceremonies for North Staffordshire Polytechnic.

Trentham Gardens was used as the filming location for Altern 8's song Activ 8 alongside Shelly's Laserdome. The inside of the building can be seen many times during the video and the outside of the building was also used. The duo can be seen playing two violins inside of the building and can then be seen playing a Roland TB 303 and a Roland SH 101 on the outside of the building.

Before World War I, the Staffordshire Yeomanry used Trentham as a summer military training camp between 1909 and 1914. During World War II the Trentham Estate became a military regroupment camp for French soldiers. The French soldiers were a mix of the Foreign Legion, the Chasseurs Alpins (the light mountain division) and a tank company. The 1,619 men of the 13th Demi Brigade of the Foreign Legion had been in Norway, but had been pulled out to defend a line in Brittany from where they then fled to Britain. – although proper medical facilities took longer to organise. Numbers at the camp appear to have lessened to 5,530 after the initial influx. By July 1940, the camp was split into pro and anti Vichy France factions. Some 600 men of the Foreign Legion chose to leave to join the Vichy Legion in North Africa. Around 900 other left to join the Free French. The bulk of the French troops remained at Trentham. The attitude of local people appears to have changed after the initial arrival: there were complaints about the killing of the deer herd, to the extent that estate records show that nearly all the deer were killed; discipline was lax;

As part of the regeneration, Trentham Monkey Forest, the first wildlife park of its kind in England, was opened in July 2005. It consists of of forest, which contain 140 Barbary macaques, wandering freely. There is a 0.75 mile (1 km) path through the forest along which visitors walk; there are no barriers between the forest and the path, although visitors are confined to the path, which has guides to ensure the safety of both the visitors and monkeys, and there is a fence around the forest. The park is one of four owned by the de Turckheim family; The forest is open to visitors every day between April and October inclusive, and opens on weekends and school holidays in February, March and November. The forest also has a conference venue. The forest supports research into the biology and social behaviour of the macaques at the park.