Area Summary Assessment Guidelines

WOODHALL PARK AND WATTON-AT-STONE SLOPES summary assessment evaluation guidelines area70

area 70

Buntingford

100019606 2004 Watton Stortford -at- Stone

Hertford

LOCATION KEY CHARACTERISTICS Woodhall Park and an area of wooded farmland to the • undulating landform north along the eastern flank of the Beane valley. • unifying architectural style of estate farm buildings and lodges throughout area LANDSCAPE CHARACTER • well wooded, with exotic tree species within parkland An upland arable landscape, more enclosed by woodland • parkland influence of ornamental trees and boundary tree than the open area to the north and with very strong belts; estate influence of many mature hedgerow oaks overlying planned parkland characteristics within Woodhall, • parkland character overrides topography which makes a strong statement, contained within its extensive brick wall yet visible over a wide area DISTINCTIVE FEATURES • brick wall around perimeter of Woodhall Park • Woodhall Park mansion

The Broad Water, • Woodhall Park (P. Shears)

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PHYSICAL INFLUENCES HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES Geology and soils. Woodhall Park has deep,well-drained The remains of a Roman road which ran from Verulamium loamy soils over chalky till (Melford series in the south; and passed through Watton-at-Stone can be seen in this Hornbeam 3 series in the north); area. A Saxon-Dane battle took place here in 1016, and its Topography. Undulating upland, sloping south-westwards market is mentioned in Domesday. Woodhall (formerly towards the Beane. known as Watton Woodhall) is a visually dominant Degree of slope. 1 in 30 to 1 in 45 parkland, walled and with a very conspicuous mansion set Altitude range. 60m to 100m within open grassland slopes down to the dammed river Hydrology. The Dane End tributary flows in a south- Beane. The first record of a deer park here is 1645 and the easterly direction to the Beane, which lies parallel to the herd was only disposed of in 1939. The park was created in western edge of Woodhall Park. In the parkland the river the 18th century from farmland which was 'landscaped' by has been dammed to create lakes, augmented by natural William Malcolm, who dammed the Beane to form a springs in the area to the south-east of Watton-at-Stone. narrow sinuous lake with cascade, weir and sluice. It has Land cover and land use. This wooded farmland consists planted parkland and pre-parkland trees, extensive of estate farmland and parkland and is in mainly arable boundary belts, a fine walled garden and a 1-hectare cultivation with significant amounts of pasture, with a garden laid out by Brenda Colvin c.1958 near the converted group of linked woodlands in the north-eastern part. stables. Much of the former parkland has been returned to Vegetation and wildlife. Most of the woodland in this agriculture but pre-parkland hedges and fossil roads are still area is ancient woodland, with species including oak, holly, visible. field maple, elder, ash and hawthorn. Hog's Wood is Field pattern. Regular and small to medium in scale. hornbeam coppice with oak standards, well managed and Bardolphs, to the north of Woodhall Park, is a tenanted with a distinct banked edge. High Wood is designated SSSI farm belonging to the estate. for its ancient oak/hornbeam woodland and has had the Transport pattern. The A 602 trunk route, with its modern same boundaries since the 16th century. New Wood is also hawthorn hedges, wide banked verges and traffic, follows ancient woodland. Species in the other woodlands are ash, the eastern and northern boundaries of Woodhall Park. oak and horse chestnut, with blackthorn and poplar. Field Walkern Road runs north/south below the plateau edge on boundaries tend to be modern medium-height hawthorn. the eastern valley slope The permanent pasture contains many mature oaks and Settlements and built form. there are conifers within the Woodhall Park estate. The • Watton-at-Stone is the largest settlement associated with roadside verge along Walkern road, between Walkern and this rural stretch of the Beane. It has a 15th-century Watton-at-Stone, supports a rich mix of calcareous herbs church and cottages ranging from Early Tudor through to and the adjacent arable fields are a rich area for arable late Georgian. It is currently undergoing a significant weeds. In 1991 this verge was designated the county's first housing expansion. Watton Hall is Early Tudor and there Heritage Roadside Verge. A very sharp hanger off the A602 are several 17th-century houses and cottages in the above Watton-at-Stone, over the river valley, marks the village, as well as significant 21st-century development transition between gravel and chalk. on the western edge. The name 'at Stone' derives from the presence of two puddingstone lumps. There are natural springs in the area and the town was at one time a popular spa. It has developed considerably since the reopening of the station in the 1990s. Hitch's large (300mm x 150mm) patent bricks (patented 1828) were used to build the road bridge at Watton-at-Stone; later additions and repairs have used conventional bricks • Woodhall Park (originally Watton Wood Hall) is a white brick oblong built in 1777-82 for Sir Thomas Rainbold, replacing a 16th-century house. It has four yellow-brick early Victorian lodges with approach drives.

OTHER SOURCES OF AREA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens. Pevsner, N., rev. Cherry, B., Hertfordshire, Penguin (2000).

pg 103 East Herts District Landscape Character Assessment WOODHALL PARK AND WATTON-AT-STONE SLOPES summary assessment evaluation guidelines area 70

VISUAL AND SENSORY PERCEPTION ACCESSIBILITY To the north potential views are filtered or blocked by Footpaths are limited and occasionally unmarked, with woodland. From the outside this area is concealed by some along farm tracks and some lost. woodland from the north and by topography from the south. Views within the area are extensive, occasionally COMMUNITY VIEWS blocked locally by woodland. This is a medium-scale, The large parkland of Woodhall is regarded as distinctive contained landscape, visually unified and tranquil. Although (C). there has been a considerable change from parkland to arable within Woodhall Park, the overall character is LANDSCAPE RELATED DESIGNATIONS retained. Approximately 50% of Woodhall Park is a designated Rarity and distinctiveness. Woodhall Park is listed Grade Landscape Conservation Area. II* in the English Heritage Register of Historic Parks and Woodhall Park is Grade II* listed by English Heritage. Gardens.

VISUAL IMPACT There is little impact from built development in this area, other than from the A119.

CONDITION STRENGTH OF CHARACTER Land cover change: localised Impact of landform: dominant Age structure of tree cover: mature Impact of land cover: dominant Extent of semi-natural habitat survival: widespread Impact of historic pattern: continuous Management of semi-natural habitat: good Visibility from outside: open Survival of cultural pattern: intact Sense of enclosure: unified Impact of built development: low Visual unity: open Impact of land-use change: low Distinctiveness/rarity: rare/unique

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

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STRATEGY AND GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING CHANGE: SAFEGUARD AND MANAGE • resist any development proposals that would affect the integrity and historic value of this landscape area • encourage the dissemination of information about the value of parkland and veteran trees • encourage the reversion of arable to pasture, especially within the parkland • promote crop diversification and the restoration of mixed livestock/arable farming • promote the creation of buffer zones between intensive arable production and semi-natural habitats, i.e. along the stream courses, to prevent pesticide, herbicide and fertiliser run-off and to provide additional habitat. Where possible, link these buffer zones to the wider landscape via ecological corridors such as hedges and woodlands, to increase biodiversity • encourage the establishment and management of wet native woodland along watercourses, such as willow and black poplar • encourage woodland planting around or adjacent to existing woodlands, using only locally indigenous species of local provenance • establish realistic and attractive management schemes for all sites with heathland and grassland communities • promote the management of woodland to maintain a distinction between different systems: high forest, coppice, coppice-with-standards, wood pasture; establish a good age-spread through the woodland and a species- rich ground flora • encourage the replanting of hedges along historic field boundaries, avoiding roadside verges, which should be managed for their nature conservation potential

• Watton-at-Stone church (P. Shears)

pg 105 East Herts District Landscape Character Assessment