Recording and Registering Essex Parks
During the course of my work surveying the parks of Essex, it has become clear that our parkland
heritage (from an historic and wildlife point of view) is an important, yet vastly under-rated and
seemingly little-known aspect of the county's history. I would suggest that a new register of Essex
parks is established, not for example in the English Heritage mould, but one that embraces all aspects
of a park's identity. By that. I mean that the government bodies mainly responsible - English Heritage
and English Nature - collaborate to produce an integrated register which would cover the following
categories for each individual park:
Ownership
Location
History of the site - including recent maps, ie Ordnance Survey + historic estate maps + Chapman
& Andre, etc
House English Heritage status, some history, ownership, architect(s), interior designers, images
(current and historic)
Park and Garden - English Heritage status, some history, landscaper(s), images (historic and
current), garden buildings (and designers)
Other Buildings and Structures - status, some history (including those demolished if deemed
relevant) and architects. Buildings in this section would include stable blocks, home farms, dairies,
gate lodges, ice-houses, park walls, ha-has, or any other utility buildings
Details of important collections
Details of important libraries
Works of Art (statuary and fine paintings)
Fine Furniture
Nature Conservation Status
Red Data Book and Nationally Notable Species
Biodiversity Action Plan Species
Essex Red Data List Species
Brief Description of Habitats
Notable Trees - 1) Native
2) Introduced
References - Books, Journals, Estate Maps, English Heritage (National Monuments Record),
English Nature surveys, Essex Field Club surveys, etc.
I suspect it would be viable to trial Essex for such a venture which on successful completion,
could be applied to other counties in England.
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Essex Parks: Section 2 - Hylands Park