Trentham Gardens have been enjoyed by local people since the early nineteenth century. From the 1920s the Sutherland family developed the Gardens commercially. Staffordshire Film Archive has a wealth of archive film footage and reminiscence recordings charting the development of Trentham Gardens from the early 1930s to today. This archive is a celebration of local people at play – with wonderful film of the Gardens over the decades; the swimming pool, lake, ballroom children’s play areas and much more – through to the creation of the modern Gardens today.

In this programme we are also looking at the history and heritage of Trentham Hall itself and how the Trentham Estate developed and has interacted with the local community of Trentham over the centuries. This section has been produced in collaboration with the Trentham Heritage Project.