Spectacular 'lost' 17th century garden is revealed under parched grass sparked by Britain's record-breaking heatwave

By MARK DUELL, DEPUTY CHIEF REPORTER (DIGITAL) Published: 15:58, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 16:02, 20 July 2026 The outline of a 'lost' 17th century garden outside one of Britain's most famous stately homes has been revealed by the ongoing hot and dry weather. Aerial views of the Chatsworth Estate in Derbyshire have shown fascinating traces of an ornamental arrangement of flower beds and paths called 'The Great Parterre'. The spectacular garden was created for William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire around 1699, to complement a new south façade of the historic property. The feature at the estate - owned by the Cavendish family since 1549 - measured 473ft by 227ft and followed the fashion for formal gardens at the time. But it was covered over and replaced with a new design around 1730 in changes introduced by the 3rd Duke of Devonshire, also called William Cavendish. Now, the extremely hot weather and exceptionally dry conditions that have gripped England in recent months have revealed the outline of the original garden. Because the grass that was laid to replace the flowerbeds and paths has shorter roots, it burns more quickly when temperatures are high and the weather is dry. This has created a contrast and is temporarily revealing the swirling patterns of the 1st Duke's original garden underneath, as also happened during the 2022 heatwave. Traces of an ornamental arrangement of flower beds and paths called 'The Great Parterre' at the Chatsworth Estate in Derbyshire have been revelaed by the ongoing hot and dry weather The feature measured 473ft by 227ft and followed the fashion for formal gardens at the time An engraving of Chatsworth by Knyff and Kip from 1709 which shows 'The Great Parterre' Staff at Chatsworth said weather monitoring equipment in the gardens had recorded temperatures peaking at more than 30C (86F) in May, June and July this year. They compared conditions with climate averages in Derbyshire and East Midlands, and confirmed Chatsworth's spring and early summer had been exceptional. The area was noticeably sunnier with around 33 per cent more hours of sunshine (530.8 hours), and considerably drier with 32 per cent less rainfall (108.2mm). The hottest recent temperature at Chatsworth was 38.1C on July 26, 2022, on the Salisbury Lawn. The next hottest day was over a century earlier in 1911 at 34.4C. The garden team are now introducing new water management systems, such as increasing organic matter in the soil and seeking to improve water infiltration. By improving soil structure, they are hoping to improve water absorption and reduce run off during heavy rainfall. The past few months have been extremely dry, with south-east England having seen the longest unbroken spell of no recorded rainfall for more than 30 years. The Met Office said an average of zero rainfall has been measured across its weather stations in the region for 17 days in a row, from July 2 to July 18. This is the longest unbroken run of days with no rain for south-east England since a 17-day period in March-April 1995. Reservoir storage levels in England are currently at 79 per cent, around five percentage points below the long-term average for the time of year, the Environment Agency said as it released its weekly dry weather and drought report last Friday. Your browser does not support iframes. Six reservoirs are classed as having 'notably low' levels, including Wimbleball in Somerset, Grafham in Cambridgeshire and Hanningfield in Essex, while Blagdon reservoir in Somerset is classed as being 'exceptionally low'. There have been 28 days in 2026, consecutive and non-consecutive, when 30C has been exceeded somewhere in the UK: seven in May, eight in June and 13 in July. The record for the number of 30C-plus days in a calendar year is 34, which was set in 1995. It comes as a further 2.4million people will now be subject to a hosepipe ban. South East Water said customers will be affected by temporary restrictions in Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire from Saturday. But the firm is asking customers to cut back water use straight away, telling them not to use hosepipes for their gardens, cars, patios, boats or swimming pools. The ban had been in place just for its customers in Kent. Other water companies including Affinity, Anglian, Southern and Cambridge Water have also imposed hosepipe bans in recent weeks.