©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 lies south of the river Colne, west of Northwood and abuts the county boundary.
©Crown
Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001
The area has distinct sloping and undulating landforms that tumble down to the River Colne. The traditional pattern of pasture enclosed by tall and well-treed hedgerows is retained, supporting horse grazing and grass crops. Woodland on the higher ground combines with the hedges to create a lush appearance. The historic parkland at Moor Park is a major feature with a fine landscape setting. Golf courses occupy a large proportion of the area and their success in visual integration is variable.
Moor Park (J. Billingsley)
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Geology and soils. The characteristic feature of the area is the mix of soils. To the north of the area closest to the Colne the geology consists of plateau gravel and river-terrace drift overlaid by well-drained flinty coarse loamy and gravelly soils, associated with slowly permeable and seasonally waterlogged fine and coarse loamy soils over clays (Sonning 1 series). Further up the slopes the geology changes to drift over Tertiary clay. Here the soils are loamy and fine silty over clayey soils with seasonal waterlogging (Wickham 4 and Essendon series). The wide range of soils helps support a diverse range of vegetation.
Topography. The landform comprises a series of strongly undulating ridges and valleys that extend from south east to north west, slowly falling towards the Colne valley.
Degree of slope. Slopes are typically c.1 in 15 but locally can increase to 1 in 8, e.g., north of Stockers Farm.
Altitude range. The slopes fall from 118m at Bath End Clump down to 44m on the edge of the Colne valley.
Hydrology. A number of streams rise on the clay slopes from springs. Small ponds are also found on the higher ground and locally as artificial water features within Moor Park.
Land cover and land use. The major land use is recreation. There are three golf courses within a relatively small character area, two of which are within the grounds of Moor Park. The secondary land use is pastoral with the majority being horse pasture. The third use is forestry.
Vegetation and wildlife. There are a number of ancient woodlands on the slopes, most notably Bishop's Wood. Here the mix of soils, including clay with flints and sandy heath, make the site one of the most diverse in the county. There are areas of mature oak and beech with hazel and hornbeam coppice. The beech is found on the acidic, drier areas of ground. Remnants of heather suggest the area formerly included wood pasture and some areas of acidic grassland heath which would have supported pigs. Rare flora includes the lesser skullcap (characteristic of wood pasture) and the southern woodrush (characteristic of ancient woodland origins). The wood now has extensive areas of conifers. Batchworth Heath is also a remnant of the wet heathy conditions on the higher ground. Hedges in the area are tall and bushy with mixed species, including field maple, hawthorn and hazel, with oak and ash standards.
The 'genius loci' of the area has long been recognised as a Roman villa site and is located within Moor Park golf course. The undulating grounds of Moor Park contain clumps of mature oak and have spectacular views to the north over the Colne and Chess valleys. The settings of the house were much praised by William Temple (1685) when he declared they were 'the perfectest Figure of a garden I ever saw ... the sweetest Place'. The park was later remodelled, firstly by Charles Bridgeman and then Capability Brown (1755-60) who designed earthworks to improve the view to the Chess Valley. A formal Italian garden followed in the 1830s.
Field pattern. The historic field pattern is a mix of pre-18th century organic enclosure and later more regular parliamentary enclosure. Areas of post-1950 prairie fields have recently been converted to golf courses. The surviving fields are small to medium in size.
Transport pattern. The area has few roads. The A404 passes through the middle with other minor roads on the fringe.
Settlements and built form. The traditional pattern of settlement was of dispersed farmsteads set on the ridges and higher ground. A cluster of dwellings lies around the green at Batchworth Heath. Rickmansworth has spread up the slopes and Northwood has extended to the edge of the ridgeline on the county boundary. The most significant building is Moor Park, built for Benjamin Styles and referred to by Pevsner as the grandest 18th century house in Hertfordshire. The most imposing feature of the house is the gigantic four-column portico and pediment on the west elevation. From the 1930s a select group of modern houses were built in the grounds .To the south and east of the park is Moor Park Conservation Area, a 20th-century large private estate which is a fine example of Metroland.
English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens.
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The area is open to views from the north and east slopes of the Colne valley as the slopes rise up to the viewer. The well-vegetated slopes are in marked contrast to the open arable Maple Cross slopes. Within the area views are contained by vegetation and landform. This is a coherent landscape with moderate impact from built development and only distant distraction from intrusive noises.
Rarity and distinctiveness. The landscape type is unusual in the county. The mature parkland setting and dramatic house set on rising ground with views to the north are the most distinctive elements.
Mount Vernon Hospital chimney is a prominent and unwelcome feature on the horizon.
There are several attractive built features including Moor Park, the Doric gatehouse and many of the houses within the Moor Park Conservation Area. The newer golf course to the west is younger and more prominent, breaking across the pattern of the hedged landscape.
There is open public access to Bishops Wood Country Park, run by Three Rivers District Council. Through the remainder of the area three are only three footpaths with one of these passing through Moor Park. The Park has a private feel.
This area contains some distinctive and valued aspects, including Bishops Wood (D).
Re. Moor Park: '[Capability Brown] has undulated the horizon in so many artificial molehills, that it is as unnatural as if it was drawn with a rule and compass' (Horace Walpole, 1760).
In 1904 Arthur Young remarked, 'much of the timber in Moor Park is of great antiquity and a considerable portion of it is in a state of decay' (Hertfordshire Countryside, Vol. 22, No. 103, 'The Story of the Oaks of Hertfordshire', pp34-36).
English Heritage Grade II* listed: Moor Park.
Colne Valley Regional Park (north west).
SAM: site of Roman Villa (Moor Park golf course).
| CONDITION | |
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| Land cover change: | localised |
| Age structure of tree cover: | mixed |
| Extent of semi-natural habitat survival: | widespread |
| Management of semi-natural habitat: | good |
| Survival of cultural pattern: | interrupted |
| Impact of built development: | low |
| Impact of land-use change: | moderate |
| ROBUSTNESS | |
| Impact of landform: | prominent |
| Impact of land cover: | prominent |
| Impact of historic pattern: | interrupted |
| Visibility from outside: | widely visible |
| Sense of enclosure: | contained |
| Visual unity: | coherent |
| Distinctiveness/rarity: | unusual |
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View from Moor Park across Colne Valley (J. Billingsley)
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