Essex Parks - The Eulogy
In section III have emphasised the importance of Hylands Park as a site for veteran trees and
saproxylic invertebrates. Hylands is the only parkland site in Essex to have been so extensively
studied. It differs from many other parks such as Weald and Danbury in being 18th century in origin,
rather than medieval. As a rale of thumb, early parks should have a greater diversity of the rarer
invertebrates associated with their ancient trees.
Very little work has been undertaken on the flora and fauna of Essex Parks and those that have been
studied tend to be those open to the public - Weald, Thorndon and Dagnam for example. There are
many parks in Essex, both public and private, that still have a recognisable wood-pasture landscape
and of the parks that I have knowledge of, the following would almost certainly have significant
assemblages of the rarer saproxylic invertebrates. Most of these also have good numbers of very
sizeable veteran trees.
Barrington Hall (Private) Quendon (Private)
Braxted (Private) Stansted Hall (Private)
Dagnam (Public) St Osyth (Private)
Danbury (Public) Terling (Private)
Hylands (Public) Thorndon (N & S) (Public)
Lexden (Public) Weald (Public)
Mistley (Public) Wivenhoe (Essex University)
These fourteen parks I suggest would be in an Essex parks premiership league from the point of
view of ancient trees and probably rare flies and beetles. Some, such as Hylands and Stansted Hall,
also have notable assemblages of introduced tree species.
Many parks I have visited have a recognisable wood-pasture aspect - in some this is extensive,
covering virtually the whole park. In others, such as Littley Park near Hartford End, only a tiny-
fragment remains, but even these parks make some sort of contribution to the total acreage of
lowland wood-pasture in Essex. As I have already mentioned, the estimated 4,000 odd acres of
lowland wood-pasture contributed by parks in Essex may be significant in a national or even
European context. Essex parks have many other important attributes beyond their wildlife.
The history of Essex parks is also in part the history of Essex. Sooner or later the name of one or
other of the great "movers and shakers" in history crops-up associated with this park or that park.
The great houses, sometimes built serially in a particular park are an important part of our cultural
heritage, as much for the owner who commissioned them, as the architect who designed them and
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Essex Parks: Section 2 - Hylands Park