This season, Burton Constable Hall invites visitors to discover The Curiosity Garden, a rare opportunity to see one of its most remarkable collections brought together for the first time in over two centuries.
Created between the 1740s and 1760s, the Herbarium is one of the largest and most complete surviving collections of its kind in Britain outside London. Carefully preserved plant specimens, both local and exotic, provide a glimpse into how people collected and studied plants in the eighteenth century.
The Herbarium reflects a period of growing interest in botany, when specimens were gathered, exchanged and studied through networks that connected collectors, gardeners and correspondents across Britain and beyond. The collection shows how plants were recorded and documented, and the range of species noted at the time.
At the centre of this story is William Constable, who inherited the estate in 1747 and played a key role in developing the collection. His passion for plants helped shape both the Herbarium and the wider estate, a legacy later reflected in the transformation of the parkland by Capability Brown in the 1770s.
Visitors will encounter The Curiosity Garden across a series of historic interiors within the Hall, including the Blue Room and Chippendale Room, placing the Herbarium within the context of the house and its collections.
The exhibition also forms part of the Yorkshire Country House Partnership’s 2026 shared theme, Plants, Trees and the Country House. Across the region, historic houses are presenting exhibitions and displays exploring the botanical heritage of country houses, from gardens and parkland landscapes to the natural materials and motifs found within historic interiors.
As part of the project, the entire Herbarium has been digitised, helping to preserve this important archive and making it accessible to wider audiences.
Sarah Burton, Curator at Burton Constable Hall, said: “Very few people have seen the Herbarium like this. Although the specimens are over two centuries old, they’ve been preserved with great care, and you can still see the detail in the plants as well as the handwritten notes recorded alongside them, showing how carefully each plant was observed and documented”.
The Curiosity Garden offers a rare chance to see a collection that has remained largely unseen for generations, and to explore how an interest in plants helped shape life at Burton Constable Hall.
Visitor information
Location: Burton Constable Hall
Dates: 28th March – 1st November 2026
Timings: On display during Hall opening hours. The Hall opens at 11am with last admission being 3pm
Admission: Included with a standard Hall admission ticket
For further information, visit www.burtonconstable.com