©Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001
| Landscape Character Assessment | HertsDirect | Environment | |||
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©Crown
Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001
This area is located to the west of the M25, south of the River Chess and east of the Chalfonts. (NB: A considerable part of the area falls within Buckinghamshire.)
©Crown
Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001
A gently undulating and sinuous plateau, locally divided by narrow chalk valleys (see Maple Cross Slopes Character Area). A small to medium-scale landscape, relatively wooded and treed, which helps to create a visually contained and coherent appearance. The area has a planned feel with a number of traditional farm buildings, parklands and more recent development. Chorleywood Common is of local importance for nature conservation and recreation.
View from Shepherds Lane (J.Billingsley)
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Geology and soils. The soils are characterised by a mix of well-drained fine loamy over clayey soils and coarse and fine loamy over clayey soils with slowly permeable subsoils and slight seasonal waterlogging (Marlow association). The underlying geology is a combination of plateau and river-terrace drift forming part of the clay-with-flints area.
Topography. The plateau is a gently undulating area forming part of the Chilterns dip slope. Slopes rise from the adjacent Maple Cross slopes. At Artichoke Dell there is a steep-sided wooded valley running through to Chorleywood near Chorleywood Common.
Degree of slope. Generally less than 1 in 50 over the plateau. Locally up to 1 in 7 at Chorleywood Common. Slopes rise from east to west by up to 1 in 25.
Altitude range. 95-110m on plateau. Down to 70m at Artichoke Dell.
Hydrology. There are no significant streams, however there are a number of ponds associated with either parklands, farmsteads, field corners or Chorleywood Common.
Land cover and land use. The land-use pattern is wooded farmland with a dominance of pasture, mainly for equestrian use. Arable areas are modest in extent and tend to be on the fringes of the area.
Vegetation and wildlife. There are a number of interlocking woodlands with beech the natural type, particularly on the slopes. Other species include oak, ash, hornbeam, hazel, and occasional larch and horse chestnut. Parkland trees include lime, cedar and pine. There are areas of species-rich grassland, orchards and old enclosure within the Heronsgate estate. Hedges are mixed with a high percentage of hawthorn and locally areas of bracken.
Chorleywood Common, 'the glory of Chorleywood', is a distinctive area of wet acidic common dating from before 1766 and lying on glacial gravel. There are some areas of species-rich grassland remaining at Artichoke Dell and associated acidic heath plants. There are also pockets of chalk grassland by the railway. The common was traditionally used for grazing and as a stopover for drovers but has subsequently partly regenerated to woodland and is now partly the Chorleywood golf course. The woodland mix is oak/birch with some invasion of sycamore.
The Quaker leader and founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, was married in King John's Farm. Heronsgate, formerly known as O'Connerville, was the first of the settlements founded by Feargus O'Conner's Co-operative in 1846. O'Conner was an MP, idealist and social reformer. The concept was that a new egalitarian system would replace the harsh economic conditions of the early 19th century by the creation of an idealised 'medieval' lifestyle with the absence of the great landowner. The realised plan of 1847 was for a school and 35 cottages, each with 2 to 4 acres. The scheme was not a financial success and the company was declared bankrupt in 1851.
Field pattern. The cultural field pattern is largely intact, dating from the 18th-century parliamentary enclosures. Exceptions to the rule occur, e.g. at Horn Hill Court, where the M25 severs a corner of the informal parkland. Field patterns are typically geometric in form, with a range of medium-sized fields and some smaller paddocks in association with the equestrian areas.
Transport pattern. The area is served by a number of sinuous lanes, some sunken and some with wider verges including bracken. Old Shires Lane follows the county boundary with Buckinghamshire. The M25 lies to the east. The railway to Chorleywood passes through a natural valley.
Settlements and built form. The area has a planned and settled appearance. There are parkland areas, including Horn Hill Court and Newland Park, together with mature farmsteads including the late medieval timber-framed King John's Farm. There is a good range of traditional building materials including brick, render and clay tile.
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Views of the area from outside are generally restricted by vegetation and the elevated plateau landform. Views within the area are generally filtered by vegetation and housing and contained by hedgerows along narrow roads. The area feels private and relatively remote, despite the proximity to the M25 and the neighbouring settlements. It has a coherent and unified character with mature trees having a strong influence.
Rarity and distinctiveness. The area is unusual in the county with Heronsgate and Chorleywood Common being the most distinctive features.
The M25 and its associated pylons and radio masts are the major detracting features. The motorway also severs parkland at Horn Hill. Fly-tipping is a problem on the minor roads near the M25.
There is a good network of footpaths and bridleways, including over Chorleywood Common, a golf course and several stables. The Shire Horse Centre north west of Horn Hill is a local attraction. The attractive and contained character of the landscape adds to the enjoyment of the facilities.
Contrasting. While most parts are generally rarely remarked upon, the Chorleywood Common site stands out as a significantly distinctive landscape in its own right, affecting the rating of this area as a whole (B).
Re. Chorleywood Common: 'woody yet open-spaced common ... the wooded section is threaded by parks and glades and orchards onto varying types of trees, shrub and bush. These intriguing twists and turns reveal stretches of bracken ... A magnificent sight is the early bloom of golden gorse.' ('Common Heritage', Hertfordshire Countryside, Vol. 19, No. 77, April/May 1965, pp 214-15).
Chilterns AONB: (north of Chorleywood only).
| CONDITION | |
|---|---|
| Land cover change: | insignificant |
| Age structure of tree cover: | mature or young |
| Extent of semi-natural habitat survival: | widespread |
| Management of semi-natural habitat: | variable |
| Survival of cultural pattern: | interrupted |
| Impact of built development: | low |
| Impact of land-use change: | low |
| ROBUSTNESS | |
| Impact of landform: | apparent |
| Impact of land cover: | prominent |
| Impact of historic pattern: | interrupted |
| Visibility from outside: | concealed |
| Sense of enclosure: | contained |
| Visual unity: | unified |
| Distinctiveness/rarity: | unusual |
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Stockport Road, Heronsgate (HCC Landscape Unit)
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