Here’s a job you could take some real Pride in
MR Darcy is looking for a new gardener. Can you take on the responsibility?
The man in charge of the glorious surrounds at Lyme Park – the country estate famed as the backdrop for the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice – has stepped down.
Gary Rainford has retired as head gardener at the Cheshire property, having worked more than 47 years for the National Trust.
And, for more than two decades, Gary was responsible for the upkeep of the spectacular flowerbeds, lawns and hedges on the estate, known better to Jane Austen fans as ‘Pemberley,’ the fictional setting for the classic novel.
Trust bosses are now looking for someone to fill Gary’s sizeable gardening gloves.
They describe it as ‘a once in a lifetime opportunity’ for an experienced horticulturist to work at Lyme and take on the responsibility of the 1,400acre deer park.
Gary spent 23 years caring for the gardens at Speke Hall in Liverpool before taking charge of Lyme’s gardens in 1994.
He managed the gardens during major filming, including Pride and Prejudice, The Village and The Awakening.
It has become a mustvisit location for Austen fans, because the garden set the scene for the meeting of Mr Darcy (Colin Firth) and Miss Elizabeth Bennet (played by Jennifer Ehle) as at Pemberley.
More than 24 million people visit every year.