A team of FoWP members embraced a unique opportunity to explore a part of the hall that is typically off-limits to the public.
The inner courtyard is a small area on the west side of the hall, in the service wing created between 1823 and 1825. The courtyard is believed to have been created for hall staff for rest and relaxation, and access to an outside toilet. It is now used as a storage space. However, it has become overgrown with brambles among an assortment of old building artefacts. Part of the urgency to clean it stems from the need to erect scaffolding in the space for ongoing roof repairs.
Care was taken to avoid disturbing the Yellow Figwort, a Mediterranean native plant, rarely seen in the UK. It is thought it may have been introduced to Wollaton Hall by a Willoughby family member for its medicinal uses. The courtyard also houses a moth trap to record the moth species in the park.
