Gardener

Summary

The contract is full time and permanent, and the annual salary is £16,076. Your working time will be 22.50 hours each week. The employer, National Trust, is a charity. You will be based at Attingham Park, which is an estate, which could mean diversity in the role. Note some estates are far from public transport. It is located in Shropshire.

Closing date 14-12-2025

Job Description

**Important notice**

In line with our redeployment policy, we’ll prioritise applications from employees who are under formal notice of redundancy.


As a Gardener for the National Trust, you’ll be a hands-on member of the garden team, involved in every aspect of gardening at Attingham Park. Responsible for day-to-day maintenance, and the highest standards of horticulture, you’ll also play a vital role in improving the experience of visitors to the garden and wider estate.

Salary: £26,793 per annum pro rata

Contract: Permanent

Hours/working pattern: Full-time, 22.5 hours per week. For this role you will need to work weekends on a rota, as well as occasional bank holidays and evenings.

Attingham welcomes more than half a million visitors a year. Make no mistake, this is a busy and thriving place to be that is full of life and locally loved. The National Trust team here today conserve and care for the estate carrying on the legacy of the eighth Lord and Lady Berwick who left the estate to the National Trust in 1947.

Attingham welcomes everyone - our supporters, members, and visitors are vital in helping us continue our work. Whatever your role, you’ll play your part in helping us build relationships and make connections with our regular visitors, those new to Attingham, and those yet to visit, so we can keep Attingham a special place now, and for everyone, and for ever. Attingham Park is arguably Shropshire’s greatest estate.

Built in 1785 and owned by the same family for five generation, today it is around 4,000 acres in size, and at its heart is a mansion, parkland, walled garden, play space, deer park and various food and beverage and retail outlets.

Click here for more information about this location

You'll be helping to keep the Walled Garden in tiptop condition every day. You’ll work alongside other Gardeners, lead and supervise volunteers and work local community groups to share and enhance their passion for the garden. This might involve daily checks to make sure all areas are safe for people visiting, carrying out routine tasks such as weeding, pruning and mulching, and using machinery such as hedge cutters, leaf blowers, lawnmowers and tractors.

Growing produce such as fruit, vegetables and floral displays, you’ll work with the Retail, Collections & House and Food & Beverage teams to ensure the garden stays connected with the estate and offer ways for our visitors to engage with the garden. You will work seasonally with the Visitor Experience team to bring out creative ways of expressing the traditions and heritage of the garden, while exploring new methods or ideas in gardening.

Other duties might include propagation, preparing plants for sale, tree safety work, purchasing plants and other materials, and garden design and restoration. You may be involved in recycling and managing waste, along with the rest of the garden team.

You will work alongside other Gardeners also looking after the Pleasure Grounds, helping where necessary.

Applications from redeployees are assessed against the minimum criteria for the role. In your application, please provide details of how you meet the minimum criteria below:

  • practical horticulture and plant care
  • teamwork and volunteer support
  • machinery use and safety compliance
  • work programme and project support
  • communication and public engagement
Criteria for all other applicants:
  • an enthusiastic horticulturist and hands-on gardener, who’s worked with hard landscaping before 
  • knowledgeable about plants, with a great eye for detail
  • experienced with machinery, including tractors, chainsaws, rotary and cylinder mowers, and with some knowledge of maintenance 
  • a driver with a full licence  
  • able to manage a demanding outdoor role  
  • good at talking to, and getting on with, all kinds of people 
  • equally confident working within a team, with volunteers or on your own 
  • able to keep to time, plan and meet deadlines 

The National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.

• Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary

• Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)

• Rental deposit loan scheme

• Season ticket loan

• EV car lease scheme

• Perks at work discounts such as gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts

• Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria.

• Flexible working whenever possible

• Employee assistance programme

• Free parking at most Trust places

Click here to find out more about the benefits we offer to support you.

Disclaimer
Every effort has made to reproduce the original job advert faithfully, but errors may occur. At any time job vacancies may be withdrawn or closed prior to the original date advertised. For the definitive description, requirements, and for application instructions please see the original advert; you will be redirected to another website.