Morton Manor

The History of Morton Manor

The original building dates from around 1780 and began life as a farmhouse.

The Ferguson family purchased Morton Manor and the surrounding land in 1809, making it their family home. Robert Ferguson, who served for a time as MP for Carlisle, was a noted scholar and personal friend of the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who stayed at Morton in 1865.

Sir Frederick Chance, whose mother was a Ferguson, became owner in 1875. The house passed to Sir Robert Chance in 1920 and remained the family home until his death in 1960, although he had already presented it to the City of Carlisle in 1944, to be developed as a community centre. Sir Robert was a former Lord Lieutenant of Cumbria and the gift was made to mark his family’s long and proud association with the city.

The mansion house, with its fine Georgian facade, sits within spacious lawns and gardens landscaped by the renowned William Gilpin, providing a beautiful setting for community life to this day.

The Gardens

The gardens at Morton Manor are a restored interpretation of the original formal grounds that would have surrounded the house in its Georgian heyday. Designed by William Gilpin, the grounds feature themed planting displays, carefully managed shrub beds and many historic trees. In spring the gardens come alive with thousands of crocuses, planted by local schoolchildren as part of the Friends ongoing programme of community planting and conservation work.

The Restoration

Following years of community campaigning by the Friends of Chances Park, a major restoration of the manor grounds was completed in 2009. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund, the project totalled 1.18 million pounds and was one of the most significant investments in the park’s history. The restoration work included the Ha-Ha, new paths, entrance features, play and performance areas, coordinated signage and the planting of a range of unusual tree varieties.