Plumpton Rocks is a man-made lake and surrounding pleasure gardens south-east of

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England, near the village of

Plompton Plompton (formerly also spelt Plumpton) is a hamlet and civil parish south of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. It is close to the A661. Plompton Hall is a Grade II* listed building designed by the architect John Carr and built about 17 ...

. The site is now operated as a tourist attraction by the owner, Robert de Plumpton Hunter. It is a Grade II* listed park and garden. The site is now generally spelt with a 'u' (the older name of the parish), although artist

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

referred to it as ''Plompton Rocks'', in keeping with the modern spelling of the parish itself. The gardens reopened in July 2016 following a major restoration of the lake, dam and woods. It closed again in October 2019 to bring the lake dam up to standard for the Reservoirs Act 1975, and reopened in September 2022.

History

The gardens were designed by Daniel Lascelles in the 1750s against a backdrop of towering

millstone grit Millstone Grit is any of a number of coarse-grained sandstones of Carboniferous age which occur in the British Isles. The name derives from its use in earlier times as a source of millstones for use principally in watermills. Geologists refer to ...

rocks that have been eroded by the wind. The lake was extended by a dam built by John Carr, architect of Plompton Hall and

Harewood House Harewood House ( , ) is a English country house, country house in Harewood, West Yorkshire, Harewood, West Yorkshire, England. Designed by architects John Carr (architect), John Carr and Robert Adam, it was built between 1759 and 1771, for Ed ...

. After 1784 the gardens became part of the extensive Harewood estate. J. M. W. Turner was commissioned by

Edward Lascelles, 1st Earl of Harewood Edward Lascelles, 1st Earl of Harewood (7 January 1740 – 3 April 1820) was a British landowner, art collector, peer and, before which, member of parliament. Early life He was the son of Edward Lascelles, a senior customs official in Ba ...

, to produce two paintings of the lake and rocks. These now hang at

. The rocks were also painted by

Thomas Girtin Thomas Girtin (18 February 17759 November 1802) was an England, English watercolour, watercolourist and etcher. A friend and rival of J. M. W. Turner, Girtin played a key role in establishing watercolour as a reputable art form. Life Thomas G ...

. A chasm between two rocks is known as Lovers' Leap. The site was sold by the 6th Earl of Harewood in the 1950s. It was a location for the 2016 film ''

Swallows and Amazons ''Swallows and Amazons'' is a children's adventure novel by English author Arthur Ransome first published on 21 July 1930 by Jonathan Cape. Set in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District, the book introduces the main characters of John, Sus ...

''.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Plumpton Rocks
Plumpton Rocks website
Tourist attractions in North Yorkshire Rock formations of England Grade II* listed parks and gardens in North Yorkshire