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Granville Garden

Take a moment in this elegant rose garden created by Lady Granville, aunt to HM The Queen

Take a moment in this elegant rose garden created by Lady Granville, aunt to HM The Queen

When

  • Open daily

Ticketing information

Included in all admission tickets (members go free)

Buy Hillsborough Castle and Gardens tickets

The Granville Garden is named after its creator, Lady Rose Bowes-Lyon, who was aunt to Her Majesty The Queen and wife of the Earl of Granville, the second Governor of Northern Ireland.

Lady Granville loved gardening and spent years developing this elegant garden on the west lawn during the 1940s and 1950s.

Today, you can explore this elegant garden and enjoy the wonderful fragrance in spring and summer, when beds full of beautiful roses come into bloom.

As young princesses, HM The Queen and HRH Princess Margaret would visit their aunt and uncle at the castle. The Queen first stayed with Lord and Lady Granville in 1945 and still likes to see the Granville Garden during her visits.

Overlooking the Granville Garden is the State Dining Room, where The Queen still hosts dinners today. From her seat at the dining table in front of the fireplace, she has a direct line of sight into the Granville Garden.

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The Walled Garden at Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, showing the pergola in the distance surrounded by planting and bedding. An archway surrounds the frame of the image and there is a blue cloudy sky
Things to see

Walled Garden

Enter the castle grounds through this 18th-century walled garden, which has been expertly restored using traditional methods.

Open daily

Hillsborough Castle

Included in all admission tickets (members go free)

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The South Terrace, looking south-east across the terrace flagstones towards the small topiary trees and summer shrubs. The Greek Temple is just seen through the castle portico in the background on the left of the image.
Things to see

The Gardens

Discover the ornamental lawns, meandering waterways, peaceful woodlands and picturesque glens that surround Hillsborough Castle.

Open daily

Hillsborough Castle

09:30-18:00 (last admission is 17:00)

Included in all admission tickets (members go free)

Learn more
A guide shows a group of visitors the Throne Room in the State Rooms at Hillsborough Castle and Gardens. Two red and gold thrones sit at one end of the room and the walls are lined with green silk damask and the walls are lined with historical artwork.
Tours and talks Things to see

Castle tours

Discover elegant State Rooms still used by the royal family on a guided tour of Hillsborough Castle.

Open daily

Hillsborough Castle

Included in castle tours (members go free)

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Browse more history and stories

The story of Hillsborough Castle and Gardens

‘The Grandest House in County Down’

The story of Kew Palace

Britain's smallest royal palace and George III's private retreat

A history of royal weddings

From Queen Victoria to the modern royals

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