©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
Hatfield Park lies to the east of Hatfield and a large arc of urban development enforces its western boundary.
©Crown
Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001
An extensive area of parkland with large woodland blocks and pockets of farmland with parkland trees. Two main axes cut the Park into four large compartments. The house is located on the north-west boundary and is the focus of the area, being one of the finest Tudor buildings in England. Peripheral lodges and estate architecture enforce the parkland character and define its strong boundary. Landscape features such as the walled vineyard bridging the river Lea and the formal gardens around the house are nationally important treasures.
Pines on Hatfield Park boundary (HCC Landscape Unit)
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Geology and soils. This area lies in a sub-section of the northern Thames basin. Tertiary clays, associated with the slopes in the north and south of the area, are slowly permeable, mostly with brown subsoils. Some fine loamy and fine silty soils are found locally over clayey soils with only slight seasonal waterlogging. The central upland plateau and river terrace drift coincides with most of the farmland and is also seasonally waterlogged and slowly permeable.
Topography. Hatfield Park slopes gently to the north, with the lowest level at The Broadwater and an area of upland in the south-east. The undulating slopes in the west have an average gradient of 1 in 25.
Degree of slope. 1 in 33.
Altitude range. 60m to 121m.
Hydrology. This area has been shaped by the former presence of the Thames, with the river Lea and The Broadwater both flowing eastwards near the northern boundary. Parallel streams run down the regularly undulating slopes to the south west. There is a network of streams and small ponds on the plateau to the south east of the house and two ornamental ponds are perched on the slopes. Springs emerge from the higher land in the area, particularly around the dairy farm.
Land cover and land use. Parkland is the dominant land cover throughout the area, characterised by the extensive range of formal planting and landscape features. The land is also used for mixed forestry plantations and dairy farming. Large areas of forestry plantations conceal some of the historic parkland trees at Millwards Park. Field boundaries were not noted due to access restrictions.
Vegetation and wildlife. The ancient wood pasture common of Hatfield Heath has long been enclosed and comprises several discrete parks. They contain an important complex of pollarded and veteran trees, possibly the most important in the county. The 'Elephant Oak' is the biggest pollard in Hertfordshire, possibly the oldest. The presence of gorse on the woodland edge at Millwards Park is notable. Milwards was originally a hunting park which went to forestry in the early 19th century and was replanted in the 1960s. It is quite open in parts, with conifers among the oaks, bracken and some ornamental species. Within Home Park there are many veteran oaks and some veteran sweet chestnut.
The house and gardens date from the 16th century and were built to replace the Quadrangle Palace in Hatfield that was given to Robert Cecil, the first Earl of Salisbury, in exchange for Theobalds. Three sides of the palace were demolished in 1608 and the remaining side forms an important feature in the parkland landscape. The gardens were redeveloped and extended in the early and late 19th century. Saxton's county map of 1577 shows 'Hatfield Wood' extending as far as Northaw and Cuffley, with a smaller circular park on the site of the present park. This suggests that there may have been two deer parks, one for fallow and one for red deer, as was the medieval habit.
Field pattern. Irregular, medium to large within the farmland, elsewhere parkland.
Transport pattern. There are no public routes through the park, which is bounded to the west by the A1(M). One lane marks the south-eastern boundary, which elsewhere runs through the woodlands that are such a distinctive feature of the area.
Settlements and built form. The area is sparsely settled and all of the buildings in the character area serve the estate. The main buildings are clustered on the north-western boundary, linked to the remains of the Bishop's Palace and Old Hatfield. Two-storey red brick and stone lodge houses mark the four main entrances at the ends of the two axes. The main house is sited on slightly elevated ground, facing south, and is one of the most important Jacobean mansions in England. It is built predominantly of red brick with stone dressings. A stone loggia and clock tower, attributed to the architect Inigo Jones, were added to the front of the building in c. 1609. Elsewhere in the parkland, castellated red brick walls and an 18th-century tower enclose 30,000 vines in the vineyard that abridges the Broadwater (part of the river Lea) in the north of the estate. An early 19th-century flint-faced summerhouse with Gothic windows also survives.
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Public views into Hatfield Park are limited by strong boundaries and dense woodland blocks. Internally, long vistas are framed by double avenues and woodland rides. Farmland with parkland trees provides picturesque views across the estate from within.
Rarity and distinctiveness. This is the largest remaining area of woodland and parkland in the county. The house is the best remaining example of Tudor architecture in the country and is Grade I listed in the English Heritage Register.
Beyond the area boundary to the west, the urban development and transport infrastructure present a major impact on the character of the parkland. Within the park, the extensive forestry plantations create a coniferous skyline which is locally prominent.
Within the park and woodland of the 212ha estate there is no informal public access, but the house and gardens are occasionally open to the public
The distinctiveness of this area is highly valued (B).
Samuel Pepys on 11 August 1667: 'fine walk through the Park was of as much pleasure as could be desired in the world for country pleasure and good air'.
Hatfield Park is recognized under the Biodiversity Action Plan for the county as a High Biodiversity Site (HBA) for its oak-hornbeam woodlands, grasslands and heaths.It is also Grade I listed in the English Heritage Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
| CONDITION | |
|---|---|
| Land cover change: | insignificant |
| Age structure of tree cover: | mixed |
| Extent of semi-natural habitat survival: | widespread |
| Management of semi-natural habitat: | good |
| Survival of cultural pattern: | intact |
| Impact of built development: | low |
| Impact of land-use change: | low |
| ROBUSTNESS | |
| Impact of landform: | insignificant |
| Impact of land cover: | prominent |
| Impact of historic pattern: | continuous |
| Visibility from outside: | concealed |
| Sense of enclosure: | contained |
| Visual unity: | unified |
| Distinctiveness/rarity: | unique |
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