POTTERS BAR PARKLAND Summary Assessment Evaluation Guidelines Area54

POTTERS BAR PARKLAND summary assessment evaluation guidelines area54 County map showing location of LANDSCAPE CHARACTER AREA Stevenage Bishops Stortford Hertford Hemel Hatfield Hempstead St Albans Watford area 54 LOCATION KEY CHARACTERISTICS Potters Bar Parkland borders the northern side of Potters Bar • relic estate planting and landscape features and encloses the distinctively shaped linear settlement of • relic estate architecture Brookmans Park that stretches between the railway in the • extensive areas of recreation west and the Great North Road in the east. The area • urban edge influences includes the relic parkland of the Brookmans and Gobions • ridgelines and valleys Estates. Part of the Royal Veterinary College accommodates • open views Bolton's Park farm and uses the surrounding facilities and • mixed farming pasture for the treatment of dairy cattle. The area includes the small settlements of Bell Bar and Swanley Bar that lie DISTINCTIVE FEATURES close to the Great North Road in the east. • evidence of estate boundaries • Gobions Folly arch LANDSCAPE CHARACTER • Repton landscape at Brookman's Park A strong historical and cultural pattern is evident in the • historic settlement at Bell Bar landscape and parkland features are common throughout, • swallowholes although the landscape has evolved to accommodate Brookmans Park golf club, • modern urban fringe uses, such as recreation. This is a Repton planting (E. Staveley) fragmented landscape, with a strong urban influence. The area has a more rural character further north, along Bulls Lane, where it is relatively open with good access and long views. There are relic parkland features at Gobions Park within the public open space and nature reserve, while the more informal estate farmland with parkland trees is used for dairy farming associated with the veterinary college. The Brookmans Park golf course contains historic parkland trees. Fenced and walled estate boundaries can still be found and the ornamental garden planting can still be seen in the linear wood called The Legg, west of Bell Bar. South Hertfordshire Landscape Character Assessment pg 227 POTTERS BAR PARKLAND summary assessment evaluation guidelines area 54 PHYSICAL INFLUENCES HISTORIC AND CULTURAL INFLUENCE Geology and soils. The area is a part of the gently The influence of London on the history and culture of the undulating South Hertfordshire plateau, a sub-section of the area is significant. Land boundaries have been marked by North Thames basin. While the narrow uplands are estate architecture (lodges, walls and fences), distinctive calcareous clay-with-flints, the localised ridges and shallow vegetation types (species and pattern) and noticeable valleys are typical of glacial drift, overlying a layer of chalk changes in land cover. The Gobions and Brookmans Park that gives rise to the swallowhole formations in Deep mansions have both disappeared; although elements of Bottom and Gobions Woods. The soils are generally base- their parkland landscapes are still clearly evident. Repton poor overlain with fine loamy soils and some calcareous worked on the grounds of Brookmans Park, part of which clays (Windsor series). survives as a golf course. Gobions Park was built in the 16th Topography. Minor ridgelines cross the area in an east- century for the family of Sir Thomas More. In 1740 it was west direction, forming a series of parallel dips and slopes enlarged for Sir Jeremy Sambroke and a guidebook to that create contained spaces. England published in 1762 noted that the place had been Degree of slope. 1 in 15 to 1 in 30 made 'one of the most remarkable curiosities in England'. Altitude range. The historic mansions of Gobions, The parkland included features such as a grotto, temple, Brookmans and Bolton were all located at the high points, canal, statues and bowling green. Once the most visited between 110m and 125m. The land drops to 85m in the park in the area, the grounds are now an important public dips between. open space and wildlife reserve although the house has Hydrology. Intermittent small ponds are scattered through been demolished. It is now marked only by a red-brick 'Folly the area. Much of the land is drained by field ditches and Arch', a very early example of a medieval revival and the there is remnant wetland vegetation along the stream last remnant of the 16th-century estate. courses. A number of large, ornamental ponds are present Field pattern. Irregular field shapes are predominantly in the area, relics of the 18th-century pleasure grounds. enclosed by fences, particularly on the land used for dairy Land cover and land use. Parkland is the dominant land cattle around the veterinary college and paddocks along cover around the north of Potters Bar and has provided the Bulls Lane. Field sizes are generally small to medium in size. framework for a variety of recreational pursuits. A cluster of small fields to the north of Bulls Lane is Intermittent mixed woodlands provide a mature setting for associated with the smallholdings and nurseries. Hedgerows settlement and recreation. Two extensive golf courses make without trees and tree lines also define field pattern. use of the historic landscape structure. Other land uses Transport pattern. The railway line that generally defines include the public open space of Gobions Park, low the western boundary of the area is lined by vegetation intensity farming around White Lodge Farm and dairy that has established along the slopes of the cutting. The farming comprising fenced pasture around the dairy farm at sinuous route of the A1000, also known as the Great North the Royal Veterinary College. Road, marks the eastern boundary and settlement from Vegetation and wildlife. Elm is a common hedgerow Brookmans Park has spread along its length. Hawkshead species, with ash, hawthorn, bramble, blackthorn and dog Lane runs along the ridge from Bolton's Park. Bulls Lane in rose locally significant. Field oak trees are also common in the north of the area is a winding, partially sunken lane the area and the parkland trees at Brookmans Park continue with mature hedgerow verges arching over it. to be an important landscape feature. Oak, Corsican pine Settlements and built form. Historically the country and field maple trees are apparent in the discrete houses were built on the elevated ground with a southern woodlands. Gobions Wood is species-rich along the stream aspect. The modern settlement of Brookmans Park spreads course and contains relic 17th-century gardens. Mature down the slope and stops at the railway line. The small vegetation borders the watercourses and osier beds can be settlements of Swanley Bar and Bell Bar originated from the found around the water at Gobions open space. Neutral to tollhouses along the Great North Road and have retained acid grassland is also a local feature, with saw-wort a their pre-20th century character. Many of the houses in characteristic plant. these settlements date back to the Tudor and Georgian periods and are of locally traditional construction, such as half-timber and red brick. pg 228 South Hertfordshire Landscape Character Assessment POTTERS BAR PARKLAND summary assessment evaluation guidelines area 54 VISUAL AND SENSORY PERCEPTION ACCESSIBILITY Topography and vegetation limit visibility in the shallow Access is generally good but public access to the valleys, while long-distance views are good from the higher countryside for informal recreation is limited to Gobions land. Discrete woodland belts along the dips divide the open space and the public footpaths. Two extensive golf landscape, separating Brookmans Park Village from the courses utilise the historic parkland setting that is settlements to the north and south. The sound of the trains exclusively used by their members. and road traffic either side of the area increase the impact of these transport corridors on the character area. COMMUNITY VIEWS Rarity and distinctiveness. This area is rather typical of the The distinctivenss of this area, and in particular the Gobions impact of development on the former parkland areas of the site, is highly valued (B). county. Distinctive elements of the former parklands are discrete elements within the predominantly 20th-century LANDSCAPE RELATED DESIGNATIONS landscape. Public Open Space. VISUAL IMPACT Potters Bar presents a major impact on the south of the area. Brookmans Park has a localised, but significant impact on the historic parkland to the north and south of it. The transmitting stations to the east can be seen throughout the area. The parkland features of Brookman's park have a very localised impact. CONDITION ROBUSTNESS Land cover change: widespread Impact of landform: apparent Age structure of tree cover: mature Impact of land cover: prominent Extent of semi-natural habitat survival: fragmented Impact of historic pattern: interrupted Management of semi-natural habitat: not obvious Visibility from outside: variable Survival of cultural pattern: declining Sense of enclosure: partial Impact of built development: high Visual unity: incoherent Impact of land-use change: high 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 South Hertfordshire Landscape Character Assessment pg 229 POTTERS BAR PARKLAND summary assessment evaluation guidelines area 54

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