Painshill | |
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![]() The Abbey: one of the surviving original follies | |
Location | Cobham, Surrey, England |
Coordinates | 51°19′43.90″N 0°25′46.48″W / 51.3288611°N 0.4295778°W |
Area | 64 hectares (158 acres) |
Created | 1738 - 1773 |
Founder | Charles Hamilton (MP) |
Owned by | Elmbridge Borough Council |
Open | Every day (except Christmas and Boxing Day) |
Collections | John Bartram Heritage Collection |
Designation | Grade I |
Connecting transport | South Western Railway |
Website | http://www.painshill.co.uk |
Painshill (also referred to as "Pains Hill" in some 19th-century texts[1]), near Cobham, Surrey, England, is one of the finest remaining examples of an 18th-century English landscape park. It was designed and created between 1738 and 1773 by Charles Hamilton. The original house built in the park by Hamilton has since been demolished.
Painshill is owned by Elmbridge Borough Council and managed by the Painshill Trust. Painshill, which is open to the public (with entry charge), has been Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[2] In 1998 Painshill was awarded the Europa Nostra Medal for the "Exemplary restoration from a state of extreme neglect, of a most important 18th-century landscape park and its extraordinary buildings."[3][4] In May 2006, Painshill was awarded full collection status for its John Bartram Heritage Collection, by the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG).[5]