Cannon Hall gets £3m to restore grounds

The grounds around Cannon Hall are to be restored with almost £3m of lottery grant

The grounds of a Georgian country house are to be restored with the help of almost £3m of lottery money.

About 70 acres of park and gardens at Cannon Hall near Barnsley in South Yorkshire will be improved.

The £2,925,200 is to restore original features including an 18th Century ice house and woodland behind the walled garden. Lakes are also to be dredged.

Barnsley Council, which owns the visitor attraction, said work is due to be completed by 2020.

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Richard Emerson, chairman of the friends of Cannon Hall, said: "The grant is a major boost for a historic recreational site and is absolutely fantastic news.

"This incredible result follows years of long hours and detailed preparation and is vitally important, enabling much needed restoration and improvement of the park and gardens."

An area of the grounds of Cannon Hall is known as Fairyland

Cannon Hall was owned by the Spencer-Stanhope family for 300 years and its grounds were designed in the 18th century by Georgian landscape architect Richard Woods.

The hall opened as a museum in 1957 and its parks and gardens are free to visit.

The grant comes from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund.

The grounds were designed in the 18th Century