A boating party on the lake at Ditchley Park, Spelsbury, Oxfordshire

A deer park was established at Ditchley in the early 17th century. Early the following century, a new house and garden terrace was built. The old fishpond was converted into an ornamental lake in 1740s, and the wider landscape was ‘naturalised’ in the 1760s. Later generations made good use of the water too.

Historic England Archive HT03687