An archaeological watching brief was undertaken relating to the proposed creation of a ‘secret garden’ play area, associated car parking and pedestrian enhancements at the Welbeck Estate, Welbeck, Nottinghamshire, S80 3NB. The watching brief monitored the machine-excavated widening of a pre-existing gap in a linear earthwork at the main entrance to the estate. The excavation measured 9.5 m long and 1.8 m wide and cut perpendicularly through the bank, allowing examination of the deposits forming the earthwork. Deposits relating to the construction of the earthwork were recorded and thepresence of early 19th-century land drains within the bank provides a terminus post quem date, correlating well with the cartographic evidence. No other archaeological remains were uncovered.