summary

 
©Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001

LOCATION

Focused on Hunsdon village, bounded to the south by estate/parkland associated with the river Stort, to the east by less disturbed farmland, and to the north by the river Ash valley.

 
©Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001

LANDSCAPE CHARACTER

Large-scale open arable farmland on flat upland plateau, with smaller fields and woodland to north west of Hunsdon.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS

• few settlements: Hunsdon, Widford
• significant woodland groups clustered in north east and south west
• poor or fragmented hedges
• quite remote
• large-scale arable fields
• heavy wet clay - ditched

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES

• former World War II airfield south-east of Hunsdon - very bleak and lacking in features
• homogenous style of villages
• pylons and overhead power lines
• historic links down to river Stort
• distinction between settlement and generally unsettled countryside

Hunsdon Plateau, view to north west (HCC Landscape Unit)

assessment

PHYSICAL INFLUENCES

Geology and soils. Clay soils over till (glacial drift). Hunsdon village lies on fine loamy over clayey soils, with slowly permeable subsoils (chalky till and glaciofluvial drift) (Ashley series), while the surrounding area lies on slowly permeable calcareous clay (Hanslope series).

Topography. Flat plateau.

Degree of slope. 1 in 375.

Altitude range. 66m to 81m.

Hydrology. There are many ditches in this poorly drained area, but few streams. To the south they flow into the Stort or Lea; in the north into the Ash.

Land cover and land use. This area is in intensive arable production, with areas of ancient woodland in an aggregated block to the north east of Hunsdon village and woodland plantations around Bonningtons, south west of the village. The impact of former land use as a World War II airfield is very apparent to the south east of the village, where all trees and hedgerows were removed and have not been replaced.

Associated features: ditches, moats.

Vegetation and wildlife. This is a uniform area of arable farmland with wet boulder clay woodlands of transitional oak/hornbeam and ash/maple/hazel and a fairly diverse ground flora dominated by dog's mercury. The woodland is a mix of ancient woodland in the north east and plantations of between 50 and 120 years old in the south west. In both cases the individual blocks are quite large (5 to 15ha); the ancient woodland blocks are closer together and linked by hedgerows. Elm is a prominent species locally, with willow along the ditches. Hedge species are elm, hawthorn and sallow with standard oak or ash, but there are few of them and they are not in good condition. Marshland Wood contains field maple, hornbeam, hawthorn, spindle, ash, oak and elm. In the churchyard at Hunsden there is a veteran yew and veteran oaks are scattered through this area, as at Olive's Farm, Hunsdon.

HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES

The historic pattern of this area is apparent but very altered locally by the destruction of the field pattern on the former WWII airfield. Hunsdon House, on the outskirts of the village, was the favoured residence of Henry VIII, to escape the London plague and for hunting. There was an extensive deer park and the possible remnants of a hunting lodge survive as a barn at Hunsdon Lodge Farm. The Tudor palace became a Georgian mansion in the early 19th century. The central block of woodland was formerly much more extensive but suffered from clearances in the early 1970s.

'It is perhaps typical of Hunsdon that where a medieval hunting ground has not been transformed into a later park, the ground has been radically altered by modern construction.' (Munby, The Landscape of Hertfordshire, p.134.)

Field pattern. Field sizes are generally large to vast, smaller and more regular immediately to the west of Hunsdon. They vary between very geometric north of Gilston to irregular within the ancient woodland, but are generally irregular (although this is difficult to see in the field, due to the scale). On the former WWII airfield the former field pattern has not been reinstated.

Transport pattern. One notable feature of this area is the difficulty of access. There are no public roads within the rectangle bounded by the B1004, the B180 and Hollycross Road, an area of c.1200ha. The remaining 550 hectares of the area are similarly un-roaded, and the B180 is the only road within the whole area. Despite an extensive network of footpaths, much of the area remains inaccessible by car or on foot. The B180 winds across the plateau, usually ditched and hedged along much of its length, although open between Widford and Hunsdon.

Settlements and built form. There are two villages within the area. Although Widford lies on the plateau edge, it is perhaps more associated with the Ash valley, unlike Hunsdon which is a focus for the whole area. Between Hunsdon and Widford there is linear settlement along the B180. Elsewhere there are only isolated farms.

• Hunsdon has a homogeneous character due to the extensive use of white weatherboard or render and uniform black-painted bargeboards for groups of houses of different styles. The date of some estate cottages is 1856, but there are older houses too, notably a timber-framed hall house in Widford Road.
• Widford is also a long-established village, with 12th-century fragments in the church and some 16th-century (Nether Hall) and 18th-century (Goddard House) houses.
• Widfordbury, perched above the river Ash, is a 17th-century farmhouse with 16th-century brick-wall relics.

OTHER SOURCES OF AREA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION

Pevsner, N., rev. Cherry, B., Hertfordshire, Penguin (2000).

evaluation

VISUAL AND SENSORY PERCEPTION

Views of the area from outside are concealed by local topography, while views within are extensive. The scale of landscape elements varies between small and large, with an emphasis on the latter. This is a very open, incoherent but tranquil landscape.

Rarity and distinctiveness. Unique in the impact the WWII airfield still has on the area. The north-eastern part of the area shows the former cultural pattern of the whole area.

VISUAL IMPACT

Impact of built development: the airfield has altered the historic scale locally.

Distinctive features: former airfield, now large-scale arable - strong contrast with pre-existing/remaining landscape to north east and south west.

ACCESSIBILITY

Frequency/density of footpaths and waymarked routes: extensive and widespread but unwelcoming across airfield.

Condition: fair.

COMMUNITY VIEWS

A few locations are noted for their distinctiveness but this area also includes large tracts of unremarked landscape (D).

LANDSCAPE RELATED DESIGNATIONS

A small part of this area is designated a Landscape Conservation Area.

 

CONDITION
Land cover change:	insignificant
Age structure of tree cover:	localised
Extent of semi-natural habitat survival:	mature
Management of semi-natural habitat:	fragmented
Survival of cultural pattern:	declining
Impact of built development:	low
Impact of land-use change:	high
ROBUSTNESS
Impact of landform:	prominent
Impact of land cover:	apparent
Impact of historic pattern:	interrupted
Visibility from outside:	open
Sense of enclosure:	open
Visual unity:	coherent
Distinctiveness/rarity:	unusual

guidelines

STRATEGY AND GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING CHANGE: IMPROVE AND CONSERVE

• the north east part of this area retains its historic characteristics of ancient woodland blocks linked by ditched hedgerows. This part should be conserved and protected, while the remainder should be improved to achieve the same landscape and ecological value
• encourage landowners to safeguard existing hedges, increase hedged field boundaries, create permanent grass strips around field margins and prevent spray drift, using financial incentives as available
• encourage the replanting of hedges along historic field boundaries, where this will not damage historic features such as ditches and banks
• encourage the planting of new woodland around existing, to protect them, increase the scale of woodland in this area and improve ecological diversity
• new woodland planting should use only locally indigenous species, of local provenance if possible
• plantations and woodlands should be managed to favour locally indigenous species, to encourage good age diversity and to maintain a species-rich ground flora
• where the loss of ponds and ditches is unavoidable, ensure that replacement features of at least equal potential nature conservation value are created and maintained
• encourage awareness of the importance and value of veteran trees
• if any artefacts relating to WWII use of the airfield are still extant, consider their retention and conservation