Hylands - Habitats
Hylands is wood-pasture, although the grasslands are not managed through a formal grazing regime
and the trees are not managed as pollards or as standards to provide timber. The grasslands are
mown (some for amenity, some for hay) and the trees are managed for their visual and historic
interest. Some grazing pressure is imposed by a herd of fallow deer, which access the whole park,
but are not enclosed within the park.
The habitats present within the wood-pasture are varied and include:
Ancient Woodland (coppiced woodland and ancient trees in grassland)
Secondary Woodland (and mature and developing scrub)
Plantations and Belts
Formal Gardens
Old Kitchen Garden
Old Orchard (remains)
Green Lane (fragment)
Hedge Lines (Roman Walk)
Old Grassland (a mosaic-acid to calcareous)
Old Mown Grassland (formal garden lawns)
New Grassland (north part of Hylands, were cultivated fields until recently)
Ponds and Lakes (including "moat" and a watercress bed)
Brook (with riffle and pool)
River (River Wid, re-incorporated into the park)
Sedge 'Fen' (Carex pendula - developing)
Essex Parks: Section 2 - Hylands Park
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