На историческом поместье Лонглит засохшая трава выявила средневековую мельницу и утраченные сады

A piece of history is emerging from the ground at a famous stately home. A summer of heavy sun has revealed long-lost features at Longleat in Wiltshire, where parch marks in the grass have exposed a medieval watermill, forgotten fountains, and the outlines of grand formal gardens. The hidden history has become visible thanks to "parch marks," which appear during dry weather when buried structures cause grass above to dry out faster, tracing the shapes of buildings and pathways lost to time. Dr James Ford, curator at Longleat, said: "A ‘leat’ is a West Country term for a man-made stream feeding a watermill, and the leat here is believed to have given Longleat its name. "We think the rectangle visible near one of the modern fountains marks the location of the watermill that stood here from the Middle Ages, when Longleat Priory occupied the site, until the middle of the 18th century. "The mill is shown in early views of Longleat. "The parch marks also reveal the locations of earlier lost walls in front of the House, and these, along with the later carriage drive, are among the easiest features for visitors to spot when they visit. "Drone footage has revealed the clearest evidence in memory of the vast formal gardens east of the House, including two small fountains, the Great Avenue and paths matching historic views. "It also shows unrecorded features, including a criss-cross parterre not documented in any known images. "This provides exciting evidence of how the gardens evolved after their introduction by the 1st Viscount Weymouth in the 1680s. "Altogether, these marks offer a rare glimpse of earlier phases of Longleat’s landscape, from its medieval priory origins to its later formal gardens and 18th-century redesign." Among the features now visible are traces of a criss-cross parterre. This is thought to be part of the ornate gardens later remodelled by famed landscape architect Capability Brown. Two small fountains, the historic carriage drive used until the 1950s, and the Great Avenue leading towards what is now Wolf Wood in the safari park have all re-emerged. The marks are offering a rare window into how the estate looked centuries ago, before its transformation into the present-day stately home and popular visitor attraction.