Acorn Bank
Seventeenth century walls shelter a marvellous herb garden with a comprehensive collection of medicinal and culinary plants, a second, larger, walled garden contains orchards, bordered by herbaceous beds, with a wild flower meadow beneath the trees and a more formal, sunken garden , that holds a pond which is home to great crested newts. A further collection of more than 100 varieties of local apples, many grown as cordons, is being established in a former vegetable garden, the crops of fruit, along with salad crops grown in hot beds in this area, are used in the National Trust tearoom.
Beyond the walls a network of paths lead through woodland and along the Crowdundle Beck, the woodland and the wild garden sloping down to the river are carpeted with a spectacular array of snowdrops followed by daffodils in the Spring, legacy of Dorothy Una Ratcliffe, “The Lady of a million daffodils” the donor of the property. Features of the walk include a lovely pond, the old Acorn Bank Mill, which has recently been restored and the remains of 19th and early 20th century gypsum mining. A public footpath along the beck passes under the Settle Carlisle Railway at Crowdundle Viaduct on its way to Newbiggin.
The fine red sandstone house was once the local base for the Knights Templar, and has recently undergone renovation, with the west wing being converted to National Trust holiday flats.
The unfurnished, mostly seventeenth century, mellow sandstone house, is built on the site of a former monastic building with links back to the Knights Templar. Visitors can access rooms on the ground and first floor, while work proceeds to restore the house and bring it back to life. The visitor reception, shop and tearoom are housed within the building and the second floor and west wing have been converted to National Trust holiday accommodation.
3 interesting random fact about Acorn Bank
- After the suppression of the Templars, the manor changed hands to the Knights of the Hospital of St John, who held it from 1323
- Gypsum was mined at Acorn Bank from the 1880s onwards
- The house has 180 acres of park and woodland
The house and garden are owned by the National Trust
The house and gardens are closed through the winter and will reopen on the 11th of March 2024.
2024 Opening Times
Garden 10:30 – 17:00
Car park 10:30 – 17:00
Parkland 10:30 – 17:00
2024 Admission
Adult £9.00
Child £4.50
Family £22.50
Family (1 adult, 2 children) £13.50
Temple Sowerby, Penrith, Cumbria, CA10 1SP. Tel: 017683 61893
Email: acornbank@nationaltrust.org.uk
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(Updated February 2024)
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Grid Ref NY 616282
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