Cheshire farm attraction set for £1m overhaul

The farm at Tatton Park will soon be given a makeover after Cheshire East Council secured a £1m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to breathe new life into the attraction.

The cash will be used to boost visitor numbers with the launch of a number of new projects at Tatton Dale Farm, which is located on the 2,000-acre estate of the historic Cheshire home.

The farm’s expanded offer could see its 19th-century agricultural mill fully restored and opened to the public, in addition to new guided tours, a ‘soundscapes’ experience, digital app and interactive models

The HLF investment, which was accompanied by a Tatton Park Charitable Trust grant, could also fund a new ‘Field to Fork’ project that will see the story of the farm told by former workers and estate family members.

The Cheshire East cabinet member for leisure and open spaces, Cllr Sam Gardner, said: “This is fantastic news and the team at Tatton deserves huge credit for securing this significant capital investment.

“Tatton’s staff and volunteers have worked really hard on this project for the past two years and these funds will help turn the farm into a unique heritage attraction that will appeal to both adults and children alike and give all our visitors a brilliant, educational and inspiring experience.”

Discussing the investment, the head of North West operations at HLF, Sara Hilton, called Tatton Dale a “rare surviving example” of a farm that led food production innovations for 200 years.

She continued: “It’s already a treasured place for families to spend time and now this National Lottery support will help open up the farm’s most historic areas – some to the public for the first time.

“It will also introduce school children and other visitors to hundreds of years’ worth of agricultural and technological progress and demonstrate why this history is still so relevant for us today.”

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