Italian Garden, Tatton Park

The Italian Garden lies in front of the house at Tatton Park, an estate of the Egerton family that passed to the National Trust in 1958. Joseph Paxton designed it; the upper terrace wall, the steps leading down to the lower terrace, the pool and the vases date from about 1860 and are his work. The Triton of the fountain came in 1887, when the Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra were due to visit.

The garden was substantially restored in 1986 and again in 2010.

The garden steps down the slope, from an upper terrace through an intermediate one to the lower terrace, towards the hollow that Turn Mere once filled. It is best seen from the house, as intended, and the upper terrace opens views over the park.

The upper terrace wall is of rusticated sandstone and marble, under a moulded coping. In its middle, a stair of two flights of six steps, divided by a landing, leads down; at landing level low piers on either side carry large marble urns, gadrooned below, wrapped above in a vine scroll and carved with egg-and-dart at the rim. Between the intermediate and lower terraces, a sandstone stair descends in three flights of six steps, divided by landings; two gadrooned marble urns stand at the top of the steps.

In the middle of the lower terrace, a square pool of sandstone and marble, its sides bowed out at the centre and edged with a moulding, surrounds a marble statue: a Triton lifting a conch to his lips, with a strand of seaweed over his left shoulder. The fountain is known as Neptune. On either side, on square plinths, stand two copper-lined cement vases, each with a fluted wine-glass base, a gadrooned belly and a rim of egg-and-dart and beading. Two large beds edged with hedges frame the fountain. At the foot, a rusticated sandstone wall, curved in a half circle at its centre, carries a terracotta balustrade that piers divide into sections; the end piers carry vases.

The garden is part of the estate's gardens, open to visitors. Its parterre is replanted with the seasons: one scheme for winter and spring, another for summer and autumn.

Entry to the estate's gardens is ticketed. It is free for children under 4, for carers, for members of the National Trust, Historic Houses and the RHS, and for members of the Tatton Garden Society. Booking online ahead is recommended, especially at weekends, in school holidays and on bank holidays. The Stableyard gives access to the house and the gardens.

Manual wheelchairs and electric buggies can be borrowed for the gardens; wheelchair loan can be arranged in advance, subject to availability.