BEECHWOOD ESTATE summary assessment evaluation guidelines area125

area 125

District Map showing location of LANDSCAPE CHARACTER AREA Tring

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Dacorum Borough Council

100018935 2004 Berkhamsted

LOCATION former estate farms are also included within the character The character area is located to the south west of area, together with plantation woodlands and pasture. village, incorporating school and estate and the outlying/associated farms. KEY CHARACTERISTICS • undulating historic parkland with mature to over mature LANDSCAPE CHARACTER parkland trees The landscape character is essentially influenced by the • meadows and sheep pasture Beechwood Park Estate, formerly home to the Sebright • timber and stock proof fencing family and now housing a preparatory school. Beechwood • estate buildings and architecture House, a late 18th century seven bay red brick mansion • mixed and recreational land uses serving the school with flanking domestic wings, occupies a prominent • extensive mixed woodlands position in its undulating parkland. The park is largely • farm buildings composed of grazing pasture with mature to senescent parkland trees. Exotic trees such as Cedar of Lebanon and DISTINCTIVE FEATURES black pine make up the greater part of the parkland • Beechwood House and associated service buildings planting. The boundaries of the estate are marked by • lodge and gates deteriorating estate fencing, with later barbed wire and • individual parkland trees stockproof additions, together with characteristic • pasture fields at Beechwood Farm architecture including the lodge/gatehouse. A number of • school traffic and conspicuous car parks in front of the main house

• Parkland from Babies Wood (HCC Landscape Unit)

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PHYSICAL INFLUENCES HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES Geology and soils. Through the centre of the area is a This landscape has a strong cultural and historical integrity shallow valley exposing the Upper Chalk bedrock geology, which defines its extent. It is dominated by the house and while the deeper valley along the north side reveals the parkland of Beechwood House, the former home of the Middle Chalk. The superficial geology is predominantly Sebright family and now a preparatory school. It is an early clay-with-flints dominating the plateau to the west of the 18th century (1702) seven bay Georgian mansion of red area, overlain by superficial Pleistocene brick earth deposits brick with slate roof, dressed stone coining and frieze in places. The soils are fine silty and fine loamy over clayey details and a pedimented façade. The house occupies the soils with slowly permeable subsoils and slight seasonal site of the former medieval monastery of St Giles in the waterlogging. Some well drained clayey soils over chalk Wood and the design incorporates some of the earlier (Batcombe Association). sixteenth century house. The estate architecture (including Topography. The area forms part of the generally gently the Victorian gate house) and estate fencing permeate the undulating Chiltern dip slope with a shallow valley in the character area throughout. area leading up to the front of the house from the eastern A large part of the parkland, designed in the 1750's by main entrance. A deeper valley borders the northern edge Capability Brown, is put to cattle grazing but still retains of the area in an east to west alignment. much of its original parkland planting although a large part Degree of slope. The average gradient of the valley is 1in is now over mature, including oaks and dying cedars. 40 and the plateau is 1 in 80. There is, however, some evidence of restoration, with a Altitude range. From 175-180m at Great Bradwin's Wood good avenue of semi mature beech leading up the main to 120-130m in the Beechwood House dry valley. drive. The influence of the estate is visually and physically Hydrology. The landform and generally free draining extensive, with a series of former estate farms and geology has resulted in little standing water. The clay at coniferous plantations with broadleaf margins. Beechwood Farm is deep enough to support some small Field Patterns. A sub regular field pattern is apparent ponds, but there is no running water. throughout the estate with a linear belt of regular fields Land cover and land use. The land cover is primarily relict following the valley formation to the north of the area. parkland and estate farmland and the land use is mixed Fields are generally medium to large and part of an informal farming. The area's secondary land use becomes apparent parkland structure. towards the main house where land is set aside for parking Transport pattern. With the exception of a short length of and playing fields for the private school that now occupies Clements End Lane to the south west the area is not the buildings. Land use change from pasture to arable is a crossed by any public roads. The oval shaped estate is feature. crossed by a simple network of access tracks and parkland Vegetation and wildlife. The semi-natural woodland was tracks and surrounded by minor roads. Verges are variable formerly largely acid oak/beech, with calcareous beech/ash in width and are often open allowing views from and to the on slopes. Most of this has been destroyed by replanting lanes and drives within the estate. with conifers etc. Former acid and calcareous grasslands in Settlements and built form. Settlement is restricted to Beechwood Park have also largely been ploughed. Remnant Beechwood House and the associated estate farms. areas exist along the south side of the park near Dean Lane, where some fragment oak/beech/ash woodland survives, OTHER SOURCES OF AREA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION including some old pollarded oaks. Pevsner N: Buildings of - Wild daffodils are notable and is a feature by Dean Lane and elsewhere in the park, but is not common.

• Beechwood House (A.Tempany)

pg 129 Dacorum Landscape Character Assessment BEECHWOOD ESTATE summary assessment evaluation guidelines area 125

VISUAL AND SENSORY PERCEPTION ACCESSIBILITY The character area is locally visible from outside, being Access to the estate is limited to two public footpaths, contained by estate boundaries and woodlands, although however one allows visitors to pass across the front of views within the area, across the parklands, are extensive. Beechwood House. A second footpath allows access Generally it is quite an open landscape, with large scale through the extensive Great Bradwin's Wood and Gravelpit landscape elements including grazing pasture with parkland Wood west of the parkland. planting. As a largely intact parkland and estate landscape, it has a clear and coherent visual unity, and is essentially COMMUNITY VIEWS tranquil however it is in poor condition and in need of Although data on community views is limited, evidence restoration. suggests that Beechwood is valued (D). As respondent Rarity and distinctiveness. As a result of its extensive and 2136 writes: “An area of natural history coupled with long distinct estate character, together with attached farms and history. Old buildings and farms. Wildlife everywhere. woodlands, it is unusual both within the district and the Good walks. An area where countryside traditions have not county. been lost to modern sways.” “Rarely seen finer trees than at…Beechwood: It has the VISUAL IMPACT name in strict propriety, for the number of stately beeches In terms of built development, visual impact is negligible, is great; but the soil agrees with all sorts of trees; the this being largely estate architecture and farms. The cedars are immense; the oaks very large; the ash straight exception is the extensive early 18th century mansion of and beautiful; the larch spruce and Scots fir equally fine, the estate, Beechwood House, which is widely visible, being but the beech uncommon” A Young in “General View of situated at the highest point of its site. the Agriculture of Hertfordshire,” 1804.

LANDSCAPE RELATED DESIGNATIONS AONB

CONDITION STRENGTH OF CHARACTER Land cover change: widespread Impact of landform: prominent Age structure of tree cover: over mature Impact of land cover: apparent Extent of semi-natural habitat survival: scattered Impact of historic pattern: apparent Management of semi-natural habitat: poor Visibility from outside: locally visible Survival of cultural pattern: intact Sense of enclosure: partial Impact of built development: low Visual unity: coherent Impact of land-use change: moderate Distinctiveness/rarity: unusual

Strengthen Conserve Safeguard and and and reinforce strengthen manage

Improve Improve Conserve and and and reinforce conserve restore MODERATE

CONDITION Restore Improve condition Reconstruct and to maintain POORrestore GOOD character

WEAK MODERATE STRONG

STRENGTH OF CHARACTER

Dacorum Landscape Character Assessment pg 130 BEECHWOOD ESTATE summary assessment evaluation guidelines area 125

STRATEGY AND GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING CHANGE: IMPROVE AND RESTORE • restore the estate character of the landscape as far as • ensure new planting is encouraged to maintain age practically possible diversity. Ensure landscape improvements respect the • encourage reversion from arable uses to pasture and historic context of existing features and the form and grassland character of parkland and gardens. Ornamental species • restrict ploughing of grasslands within parklands should only be used to replace damaged or over-mature • for existing woodlands, including encouraging the specimens, where appropriate replacement of softwoods with indigenous native • hard landscaping details such as steps, balustrades, pond deciduous communities copings, statuary and urns should be conserved. • explore improved public access arrangements to the Replacements should be in facsimile and in natural parkland and woodlands with attention to car park materials. Terraces, ha-has, estate fencing, gates and gate design and safety piers etc. should contribute to the planned landscape and • promote the appropriate management of coppice its setting. Replacement, renovated or new features woodland in order to re-establish a rich ground flora and should be architect designed and in keeping with their the distinction between different management systems, original setting such as high forest, coppice, coppice with standards and • consider ways of assimilating the impact of parking and wood pasture educational activities at Beechwood House that are • utilise ancient hedge and field boundaries for the most sympathetic to the historic parkland setting appropriate location for woodland restoration and • conserve unimproved and semi-improved grassland expansion wherever possible, avoiding agricultural improvements to • maintain and develop the traditional pattern of roadside reduce their acid or calcareous nature, in order to verges as a local feature and a wildlife resource Where maintain their nature conservation value development is likely to affect verges and damage is • promote the creation of buffer zones between intensive unavoidable, development should include details of arable production and important semi-natural habitats protection of the remaining verge and replacement of its and the creation of links between semi-natural habitats nature conservation value within the proposed scheme. • promote hedgerow restoration and creation where This is particularly important where verges include appropriate to the historic context, to provide visual and hedgebanks, sunken lanes, ditches and hedges ecological links between existing and proposed woodland • encourage the reversal of habitat fragmentation and the areas. Pattern to follow historic field boundaries where creation and improvement of habitat links to create eco- possible corridors • promote both the creation of new ponds and the • promote the expansion of woodland beyond ancient retention/enhancement for wildlife of existing ponds woodland boundaries, especially where this will help in • conserve and enhance the distinctive character of creating habitat links traditional settlements and individual buildings by • survey and manage parkland and veteran trees for promoting the conservation of important buildings and biodiversity value high standards of new building or alterations to existing properties, all with the consistent use of locally traditional materials and designed to reflect the traditional character of the area • Parkland (HCC Landscape Unit)

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