Bradgate Park
Encyclopedia
Bradgate Park is a public park in Charnwood Forest
, in Leicestershire
, England
, just northwest of Leicester
. It covers 850 acre
s (3 km²). The park lies between the villages of Newtown Linford
, Anstey
, Cropston
, Woodhouse Eaves
and Swithland
. The River Lin runs through the park, flowing into Cropston Reservoir
which was constructed on part of the park. To the north-east lies Swithland Wood
. The park's two well known landmarks, Old John
and the war memorial, both lie close to the 200m contour.
, the area was owned by Ulf, and the manor, along with some 100 others in and around Leicestershire, was awarded to Hugh de Grandmesnil
in the eleventh century as reward for his assistance in battle to William I
. The name Bradgate is thought to derive from Norse or Anglo-Saxon
, meaning 'broad road' or 'broad gate' respectively. The first mention of Bradgate Park is from 1241, by which time it was laid out as a hunting park, although rather smaller than the current boundary. It was subsequently acquired by the Beaumont family, passing to the de Quincy family and on to William de Ferrers of Groby
. It remained in the de Ferrers family until 1445, when it passed to the Grey family after William's only surviving daughter married Edward Grey. The inquisition into the estates of de Ferrers, made after his death, mentions the park, with "herbage, pannage and underwood, worth 40 shillings yearly". The Grey family retained it for the next 500 years until, in 1928 it was given, as a plaque in the park describes, 'to be preserved in its natural state for the quiet enjoyment of the people of Leicestershire'.
. These first ditchworks cross the River Lyn east of the Little Matlock Gorge. A parker, living in a moated house, was the only occupant, maintaining stocks of deer for the lord of Groby Manor
to hunt. The park was greatly extended by the 1st marquis in the late 1400s, to occupy land previously farmed by both Newtown Linford and the now lost village of Bradgate. Lychen dating of the dry-stone walls suggest that the north and west boundary walls were built in the 17th and early 18th centuries, when Bradgate was still occupied by the earls of Stamford. The walled spinneys are a later feature, built and planted in the early 19th century as coverts for shooting. The park still has herds of red and fallow deer, which probably have an unbroken occupancy since medieval times.
married Elizabeth Woodville
, who after John's death married King Edward IV. Their son Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset
prepared for building Bradgate House in the late fifteenth century but died before he was able to begin. It was his son Thomas Grey, 2nd marquis of Dorset who built Bradgate House, the likely completion date being 1520. This is one of the first unfortified great houses in England, and one of the earliest post-Roman use of bricks. It was lived in by the Grey family for the next 220 years. It is believed that the house was the birthplace of Lady Jane Grey
, later Queen, ruling for a mere 9 days before being overthrown by Mary I
. Jane was executed in 1553 and when her father was executed the following year the estate passed to the crown. In 1563 the family regained favour, and the Groby manor, including Bradgate, was restored to Jane's Uncle, Lord John Grey of Pirgo
. His great-grandson was made earl of Stamford
. Later earls acquired estates in Enville, Staffordshire
, and Dunham Massey
, Cheshire, and sometime after 1739 they moved out of Bradgate, which began a long decline. The spectacular ruins of the house are still visible at the centre of the park. The house was approximately 200 feet long, featuring a main hall measuring 80 feet by 30 feet. As well as considerable remains of walls and fireplaces, it has four truncated towers, and the chapel is still intact, containing a tomb effigy to Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford
and his wife. In the mid-nineteenth century, when the Grey family again wished to stay in the area, they built a new hall, which they also called Bradgate House
, 2 miles to the southwest, which was demolished after the Grey estates were finally sold in the 1920s.
known as 'Old John
' on the top of the highest hill in the park. Built by the Greys in 1784, the folly is, by local legend, a memorial to John, an estate worker killed in a bonfire accident during celebrations of the 21st birthday of the future eighth Earl of Stamford
. However he was not 21 until 1786, and a map of 1745 names the hill as 'Old John'. The tower was used during the 19th century as a viewing point for the horse-racing practice circuit laid out by the seventh earl.
was constructed in the south-east corner of the park in 1871, submerging the Head Keeper's house and a substantial area of former parkland. It was Leicester's second reservoir (after Thornton), built in response to the 1831 and 1841 cholera epidemics. The water level was raised 2 feet in 1887, to increase capacity, and the original steam powered beam engines ran until 1956. A number of pools were also constructed along the course of the River Lin through the park, to allow silt to settle before reaching the reservoir. A second, covered reservoir was added on the northern side of the park in the early 1960s.
founder Charles Bennion
who gave it in perpetuity to the people of Leicestershire. Plaques on Old John and the main path through the park commemorate the gift. The nearby Swithland Wood
had been previously bought from the estate by William Gimson, who sold it to the Leicester Rotary Club. In 1931 they transferred ownership of the woods to the Bradgate Park trustees. The park is now administered by the Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood Charitable Trust, with trustees nominated by Leicestershire County Council
, Leicester City Council
and the National Trust
.
The visible geology
in Bradgate Park ranges from some of the oldest (Precambrian
) rocks in Britain to the youngest (Quaternary
). The rock outcrops were created in conditions varying from volcano
s rising out of the ocean, to magma
flowing deep underground, and from tropical desert
s to Ice sheet
s. Within the park the outcrops are widely distributed as hillside crags and outcrops, both along the valley sides of the River Lin and on the hilltop of Old John. They include rocks with some of the oldest known fossils in Western Europe
.
outcrops include four 'type-members' of the Charnian supergroup, formed some 560 million years ago. Bradgate is one of the few areas of Britain where these ancient basement rocks can be seen at the surface. The oldest of the Charnian rocks within Bradgate Park are the rocks nearest the Old John and memorial summits. This is the Beacon Hill Formation. It appears to have formed in deep water, out of sediments of volcanic ash
and other pyroclastic material, which were then subject to slumping
and submarine flows, to create rocks with various degrees of stratification
. The volcano itself was in the north-west of Charnwood Forest
, and the whole area was in the southern tropic, off the coast of the continent of Gondwana
. (A modern parallel might be the sea surrounding Montserrat
.) Some of the layers show great variation, showing how an initial volcanic eruption would result in larger sediments rapidly settling to create course-grained tuff
, followed by settling of much finer material to form much smoother dust-tuff
s – smooth light-grey to creamy coloured rocks seen to the north of Old John. The various layers were subsequently deeply buried, subject to vast periods of mountain-building (orogeny
), heat, pressure and erosion
of overlying material, to expose the hard, jagged outcrops seen in the photograph.
Overlying the Beacon Hill Formation, but found a little further down the hillside to the south, are the Bradgate Formation beds, the most notable of which is the Sliding Stone Slump Breccia
rocks. Forming a line of crags below Old John, these are laminated mudstone
s, with layers of sandstone
, mainly of volcanic origin. The beds are substantially warped, contorted and folded. Many of the more intricate folds and 'sag' patterns are thought to have occurred while the sediments were unconsolidated and water saturated. Suggested causes for these include slumping, earth tremors and fault-movements, trapped water or gases and volcanic bomb impacts. Outcrops of other rocks of the Bradgate Formation are found further down the slope. These are younger than, and stratigraphically above the breccia, but the uplift from ancient mountain-building, the dip of the beds, and erosion of overlying rocks mean that the younger rocks are encountered at progressively lower altitudes.
The youngest of the Precambrian rocks are the South Charnwood Diorites. These are known locally as granite, (geologically they were formerly described as markfieldite), and are quarried commercially at Groby
and Markfield
. These are igneous intrusions of magma which formed within the existing Beacon Hill and Bradgate Formations. They cooled slowly, and at great depth to create their large crystaline structure, and were subsequently exposed by erosion
of the uplifted rocks above. The Diorites are the cliffs and blocks seen along the Lin valley, through the so-called Little Matlock Gorge, and near Bradgate House. They are massive blocky outcrops made up of crystals of feldspar
, quartz
and mafic
minerals.
or early Cambrian
. It is distinguished by conglomerates
with well-rounded volcanic pebbles mostly 5–15 mm but some up to 100 mm in diameter, which may have been smoothed on a volcanic shoreline before being washed, along with much finer material, into deeper water. These are younger than the Bradgate Formation, but again at a lower altitude. A possibly explanation is that it formed in a channel cut into the existing sea floor, but a preferred conclusion is that movement along fault-lines has relocated it relative to its surrounding rocks. The relationship between the different outcrops in Bradgate are made more obscure by the overlying peat
and Boulder clay
, which mean the contacts between adjacent stratigraphic sequences
are nowhere exposed.
Previously classed as precambrian, but now accepted as early Cambrian
are the Brand Group of rocks which include Swithland Slate, locally important as a source of roof slates and gravestones. The nearby Swithland Wood
has extensive outcrops and was one of the principal quarry areas until the mid 19th century. Rocks close in age to the slate can be seen in the 'stable pit', a medieval quarry near Bradgate House. This outcrop is part of the Brand Group, and is known as the Stable Pit Member, a Quartz arenite rock with a smooth glassy appearance. A metre-wide dyke
of diorite
also runs through the exposed rocks of the quarry, possibly of late Ordovician
age, which places it at a similar age to the Mountsorrel
granite formations.
period, some 350 million years after those ancient rocks were formed, they were exposed due to the erosion of the rocks above. By this point they were part of the Pangea supercontinent, and desert conditions resulted in an accumulation of windblown Loess
, which now forms the Mercia Mudstone Group
. With the subsequent sinking of the East Midlands crust, these deposits became waterlogged, and formed into red clay
. It is this clay that was used to make the bricks for Bradgate House. The mudstone is only visible where it was extracted, across the stream from Bradgate House. However, it covers much of the valley floor around and beneath Cropston Reservoir
, – demonstrating that the present Lin valley was also there 220 million years ago.
. The Quaternary
period includes the last ice age. As the ice melted, some 10,000 years ago, the solid material within the ice settled over the 'natural' rocks below. This material includes unsorted clay and sand particles, small and large pebbles, and large stones and boulders. It travelled great distances within the ice sheet
s and glacier
s, so individual rocks, whether on the ground, or within the great lengths of stone walls of the Park, may be local stone, or may be a specimen from northern Britain or even from northern Europe.
era, and that all rocks older than this developed in a world without plants or animals. The 1957 discoveries, by Roger Mason, in rocks near Woodhouse Eaves
, subsequently named in his honour as Charnia
masoni, required a re-evaluation of when life began. It also resulted in the re-classification of other rocks in Southern Australia
and Newfoundland, which have similar fossil marks. At Bradgate Park there are some 50 known examples. They mainly take the form of two-dimensional impressions of fronds and disks, and have at various times been described as seaweed, jelly fish, corals or sea anemones. They are now described as belonging to the Ediacara biota
, with no consensus on which kingdom, current or extinct, they should be placed. The Bradgate examples include Bradgatia
linfordensis and Charniodiscus concentricus as well as Charnia
Masoni. Because of the risk of vandalism and damage, specific locations of these fossils are not disclosed and those wishing to investigate them should first of all seek the permission of the Bradgate Park Trust. None of the rocks in Bradgate Park should be chipped, hammered, or otherwise sampled, replicated or removed.
. Several spinneys of woodland (pine
and mixed deciduous
) are enclosed by stone walls, and are not accessible to the public. There are a number of magnificent specimens of ancient oaks several hundreds of years old. The park is home to herds of red deer
and fallow deer
. Birdlife is profuse - the reservoir attracts many species of wildfowl, as does the river, and the spinneys provide secluded nesting areas for many other species, including large colonies of rooks
. Species such as yellowhammer
, reed bunting
, skylark
and meadow pipit
are a common sight in the open areas of the park. Deadly nightshade
is allowed to grow within the ruins of Bradgate House, having been originally established there during World War II
by Leicester Polytechnic's School of Pharmacy for medicinal purposes.
). The park is open from dawn until dusk all year round, though the public footpaths which run through the area mean that in practice the park is always accessible. There is a visitors' centre (with cafe) at Newtown Linford, and another in the centre of the park named the Deer Barn near Bradgate House.
It is also possible to travel to the park by bus. Bus routes 120 timetable 120 stops near the park entrance in Newtown Linford, while the 123 and some 54 buses run between Leicester
and Loughborough
, travelling along Reservoir road, stopping within a short walk of the park's Hallgates entrance. There is a walking path from the village of Anstey
, easily accessible from Leicester by the 74 bus timetable 74. The path is signposted from Link Road, and crosses several fields before entering the park proper.
The park is within easy cycling distance from the city centre of Leicester.
Charnwood Forest
Charnwood Forest is an upland tract in north-western Leicestershire, England, bounded by Leicester, Loughborough, and Coalville. The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland; its elevation is generally 600 ft and upwards, the area...
, in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, just northwest of Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
. It covers 850 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s (3 km²). The park lies between the villages of Newtown Linford
Newtown Linford
Newtown Linford is a linear village in Leicestershire, England.It is located in a valley in the Charnwood Forest area, and has four access roads. The first is from Anstey, then there are roads which lead to the A50 at Groby and at Markfield...
, Anstey
Anstey, Leicestershire
Anstey is a large semi-industrialised village in Leicestershire, England, located north west of Leicester in the borough of Charnwood. Its population was about 6,000 at the 2001 census although this is likely to have increased...
, Cropston
Cropston
Cropston is a village within the civil parish of Thurcaston & Cropston, part of the Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England. It is on the edge of Charnwood Forest, and lies close to Bradgate Park. The village itself is small, with the older properties close to the crossroads of Reservoir and...
, Woodhouse Eaves
Woodhouse Eaves
Woodhouse Eaves is a village located on the side of Beacon Hill, in the Charnwood Forest area of Leicestershire, England.It is a sizeable rural village, having several pubs and a few shops...
and Swithland
Swithland
Swithland is a linear village in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is in the old Charnwood Forest, between Cropston and Woodhouse and Woodhouse Eaves. Although small, it has a village hall, a parish church, and a pub. The village is known for the slate that was quarried in the...
. The River Lin runs through the park, flowing into Cropston Reservoir
Cropston Reservoir
Cropston Reservoir lies in Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, England. The dam and associated water works are in Cropston, while the bulk of the reservoir is in the neighbouring Newtown Linford parish. It was opened in May 1871 in a corner of Bradgate Park, a large expanse of open land just...
which was constructed on part of the park. To the north-east lies Swithland Wood
Swithland Wood
Swithland Wood is a public woodland in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire. Although close to the village of Swithland, it is almost entirely within the parish of Newtown Linford. It is just north of Bradgate Park and also near Woodhouse Eaves and Cropston...
. The park's two well known landmarks, Old John
Old John
Old John is a folly atop the highest hill in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, England. It was built in 1784, by the Grey family of Groby, and was originally an observation tower built to give the ladies a view of a race course which circled the top of the hill...
and the war memorial, both lie close to the 200m contour.
History
The area now enclosed as Bradgate Park was one of a number of parks surrounding Charnwood Forest. Since medieval times it has been part of the Manor of Groby. In the reign of Edward the ConfessorEdward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
, the area was owned by Ulf, and the manor, along with some 100 others in and around Leicestershire, was awarded to Hugh de Grandmesnil
Hugh de Grandmesnil
Hugh de Grandmesnil , also known as Hugh or Hugo de Grentmesnil or Grentemesnil, is one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Subsequently he became a great landowner in England.He was the elder son of Robert of...
in the eleventh century as reward for his assistance in battle to William I
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
. The name Bradgate is thought to derive from Norse or Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
, meaning 'broad road' or 'broad gate' respectively. The first mention of Bradgate Park is from 1241, by which time it was laid out as a hunting park, although rather smaller than the current boundary. It was subsequently acquired by the Beaumont family, passing to the de Quincy family and on to William de Ferrers of Groby
Baron Ferrers of Groby
The peerage title Baron Ferrers of Groby was created in the Peerage of England in 1300 when William Ferrers, 1st Baron Ferrers of Groby was summoned to parliament. He was a grandson of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby. In 1475 the eighth baron was created the Marquess of Dorset, with which...
. It remained in the de Ferrers family until 1445, when it passed to the Grey family after William's only surviving daughter married Edward Grey. The inquisition into the estates of de Ferrers, made after his death, mentions the park, with "herbage, pannage and underwood, worth 40 shillings yearly". The Grey family retained it for the next 500 years until, in 1928 it was given, as a plaque in the park describes, 'to be preserved in its natural state for the quiet enjoyment of the people of Leicestershire'.
Medieval Deer Park
The park was originally enclosed using a bank and ditch topped by vertical pales of oakOak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
. These first ditchworks cross the River Lyn east of the Little Matlock Gorge. A parker, living in a moated house, was the only occupant, maintaining stocks of deer for the lord of Groby Manor
Groby Old Hall
thumb|Groby Old HallGroby Old Hall is partly a 15th century brick built manor house and grade II* listed building located very near the site of Groby Castle in the village of Groby in Leicestershire....
to hunt. The park was greatly extended by the 1st marquis in the late 1400s, to occupy land previously farmed by both Newtown Linford and the now lost village of Bradgate. Lychen dating of the dry-stone walls suggest that the north and west boundary walls were built in the 17th and early 18th centuries, when Bradgate was still occupied by the earls of Stamford. The walled spinneys are a later feature, built and planted in the early 19th century as coverts for shooting. The park still has herds of red and fallow deer, which probably have an unbroken occupancy since medieval times.
Bradgate House
Edward Grey's son Sir John Grey of GrobyJohn Grey of Groby
Sir John Grey, of Groby, Leicestershire was a Lancastrian knight, the great-great-grandfather of Lady Jane Grey.-Titles:...
married Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
, who after John's death married King Edward IV. Their son Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset
Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset
Thomas Grey, 7th Baron Ferrers of Groby, 1st Earl of Huntingdon and 1st Marquess of Dorset, KG , was an English nobleman, courtier and a man of mediocre abilities pushed into prominence by his mother Elizabeth Woodville's second marriage to the king, Edward IV.-Family:Thomas was born about 1455,...
prepared for building Bradgate House in the late fifteenth century but died before he was able to begin. It was his son Thomas Grey, 2nd marquis of Dorset who built Bradgate House, the likely completion date being 1520. This is one of the first unfortified great houses in England, and one of the earliest post-Roman use of bricks. It was lived in by the Grey family for the next 220 years. It is believed that the house was the birthplace of Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
, later Queen, ruling for a mere 9 days before being overthrown by Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
. Jane was executed in 1553 and when her father was executed the following year the estate passed to the crown. In 1563 the family regained favour, and the Groby manor, including Bradgate, was restored to Jane's Uncle, Lord John Grey of Pirgo
Lord John Grey of Pirgo
John Grey courtier, youngest surviving son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset and Margaret, widow of William Medley and daughter of Sir Robert Wotton of Boughton Malherbe....
. His great-grandson was made earl of Stamford
Earl of Stamford
Earl of Stamford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby. This Grey family descended through Lord John Grey, of Pirgo, Essex, younger son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, and younger brother of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk Earl...
. Later earls acquired estates in Enville, Staffordshire
Enville, Staffordshire
Enville is a small village in rural Staffordshire, England, on the A458 road between Stourbridge and Bridgnorth. Enville is also the name of the parish in which it lies....
, and Dunham Massey
Dunham Massey
Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouse and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Park, formerly the home of the last Earl of Stamford and owned by the National Trust...
, Cheshire, and sometime after 1739 they moved out of Bradgate, which began a long decline. The spectacular ruins of the house are still visible at the centre of the park. The house was approximately 200 feet long, featuring a main hall measuring 80 feet by 30 feet. As well as considerable remains of walls and fireplaces, it has four truncated towers, and the chapel is still intact, containing a tomb effigy to Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford
Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford
Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford , known as the Lord Grey of Groby from 1614 to 1628, was an English nobleman and military leader. He was the eldest son of Sir John Grey and Elizabeth Nevill...
and his wife. In the mid-nineteenth century, when the Grey family again wished to stay in the area, they built a new hall, which they also called Bradgate House
Bradgate House
Bradgate House was built in 1856 for the seventh Earl of Stamford, George Harry Grey. Intended as a replacement for the Bradgate House of 1520, built by his ancestor Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset and home of Lady Jane Grey, the house was built in a Jacobean style on a site 2 miles south west...
, 2 miles to the southwest, which was demolished after the Grey estates were finally sold in the 1920s.
Old John
A prominent landmark is the follyFolly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
known as 'Old John
Old John
Old John is a folly atop the highest hill in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, England. It was built in 1784, by the Grey family of Groby, and was originally an observation tower built to give the ladies a view of a race course which circled the top of the hill...
' on the top of the highest hill in the park. Built by the Greys in 1784, the folly is, by local legend, a memorial to John, an estate worker killed in a bonfire accident during celebrations of the 21st birthday of the future eighth Earl of Stamford
Earl of Stamford
Earl of Stamford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby. This Grey family descended through Lord John Grey, of Pirgo, Essex, younger son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, and younger brother of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk Earl...
. However he was not 21 until 1786, and a map of 1745 names the hill as 'Old John'. The tower was used during the 19th century as a viewing point for the horse-racing practice circuit laid out by the seventh earl.
Cropston Reservoir
Cropston ReservoirCropston Reservoir
Cropston Reservoir lies in Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, England. The dam and associated water works are in Cropston, while the bulk of the reservoir is in the neighbouring Newtown Linford parish. It was opened in May 1871 in a corner of Bradgate Park, a large expanse of open land just...
was constructed in the south-east corner of the park in 1871, submerging the Head Keeper's house and a substantial area of former parkland. It was Leicester's second reservoir (after Thornton), built in response to the 1831 and 1841 cholera epidemics. The water level was raised 2 feet in 1887, to increase capacity, and the original steam powered beam engines ran until 1956. A number of pools were also constructed along the course of the River Lin through the park, to allow silt to settle before reaching the reservoir. A second, covered reservoir was added on the northern side of the park in the early 1960s.
Public Park
In 1905 the estate was bequeathed on the death of the 7th Earl of Stamford's wife to the earl's niece, Mrs Arthur Duncombe. Limited public access had been allowed while the park was in the hands of the Greys. In 1928, the park was included in the sale of the whole Grey estate, and was bought by local businessman and British United Shoe MachineryBritish United Shoe Machinery
thumb|right|300px|US Founders of British United Shoe Machinery.thumb|right|200px|Charles Bennion, UK founder of British United Shoe MachineryBritish United Shoe Machinery Ltd...
founder Charles Bennion
Charles Bennion
Charles Bennion was a businessman, manufacturer and philanthropist who purchased Bradgate Park for the people of Leicestershire....
who gave it in perpetuity to the people of Leicestershire. Plaques on Old John and the main path through the park commemorate the gift. The nearby Swithland Wood
Swithland Wood
Swithland Wood is a public woodland in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire. Although close to the village of Swithland, it is almost entirely within the parish of Newtown Linford. It is just north of Bradgate Park and also near Woodhouse Eaves and Cropston...
had been previously bought from the estate by William Gimson, who sold it to the Leicester Rotary Club. In 1931 they transferred ownership of the woods to the Bradgate Park trustees. The park is now administered by the Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood Charitable Trust, with trustees nominated by Leicestershire County Council
Leicestershire County Council
Leicestershire County Council is the county council for the English non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888. The county is divided into 52 electoral divisions, which return a total of 55 councillors. The council is controlled by...
, Leicester City Council
Leicester City Council
Leicester City Council is a unitary authority responsible for local government in the city of Leicester, England. It consists of 54 councillors, representing 22 wards in the city, overseen by a directly elected mayor. It is currently controlled by the Labour Party and has been led by Mayor Sir...
and the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
in Bradgate Park ranges from some of the oldest (Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
) rocks in Britain to the youngest (Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
). The rock outcrops were created in conditions varying from volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
s rising out of the ocean, to magma
Magma
Magma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
flowing deep underground, and from tropical desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
s to Ice sheet
Ice sheet
An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 km² , thus also known as continental glacier...
s. Within the park the outcrops are widely distributed as hillside crags and outcrops, both along the valley sides of the River Lin and on the hilltop of Old John. They include rocks with some of the oldest known fossils in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
.
Precambrian rocks
The PrecambrianPrecambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
outcrops include four 'type-members' of the Charnian supergroup, formed some 560 million years ago. Bradgate is one of the few areas of Britain where these ancient basement rocks can be seen at the surface. The oldest of the Charnian rocks within Bradgate Park are the rocks nearest the Old John and memorial summits. This is the Beacon Hill Formation. It appears to have formed in deep water, out of sediments of volcanic ash
Volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
and other pyroclastic material, which were then subject to slumping
Slumping
Slumping is one broad technique of warm glass working, for the forming of glass by applying heat to the point where the glass will soften. The increasing fluidity of the glass with temperature causes the glass to 'slump' into or onto the mold under the force of gravity.- Technique :Glass is most...
and submarine flows, to create rocks with various degrees of stratification
Stratification
Stratification is the building up of layers. Stratified is an adjective referring to the arranging of layers, and is also the past form of the verb stratify, to separate or become separated into layers...
. The volcano itself was in the north-west of Charnwood Forest
Charnwood Forest
Charnwood Forest is an upland tract in north-western Leicestershire, England, bounded by Leicester, Loughborough, and Coalville. The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland; its elevation is generally 600 ft and upwards, the area...
, and the whole area was in the southern tropic, off the coast of the continent of Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
. (A modern parallel might be the sea surrounding Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
.) Some of the layers show great variation, showing how an initial volcanic eruption would result in larger sediments rapidly settling to create course-grained tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
, followed by settling of much finer material to form much smoother dust-tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
s – smooth light-grey to creamy coloured rocks seen to the north of Old John. The various layers were subsequently deeply buried, subject to vast periods of mountain-building (orogeny
Orogeny
Orogeny refers to forces and events leading to a severe structural deformation of the Earth's crust due to the engagement of tectonic plates. Response to such engagement results in the formation of long tracts of highly deformed rock called orogens or orogenic belts...
), heat, pressure and erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
of overlying material, to expose the hard, jagged outcrops seen in the photograph.
Overlying the Beacon Hill Formation, but found a little further down the hillside to the south, are the Bradgate Formation beds, the most notable of which is the Sliding Stone Slump Breccia
Breccia
Breccia is a rock composed of broken fragments of minerals or rock cemented together by a fine-grained matrix, that can be either similar to or different from the composition of the fragments....
rocks. Forming a line of crags below Old John, these are laminated mudstone
Mudstone
Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the...
s, with layers of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, mainly of volcanic origin. The beds are substantially warped, contorted and folded. Many of the more intricate folds and 'sag' patterns are thought to have occurred while the sediments were unconsolidated and water saturated. Suggested causes for these include slumping, earth tremors and fault-movements, trapped water or gases and volcanic bomb impacts. Outcrops of other rocks of the Bradgate Formation are found further down the slope. These are younger than, and stratigraphically above the breccia, but the uplift from ancient mountain-building, the dip of the beds, and erosion of overlying rocks mean that the younger rocks are encountered at progressively lower altitudes.
The youngest of the Precambrian rocks are the South Charnwood Diorites. These are known locally as granite, (geologically they were formerly described as markfieldite), and are quarried commercially at Groby
Groby
Groby is a large English village in the county of Leicestershire, to the north west of the city of Leicester. The population at the time of the 2001 census was 7,301.-Description:...
and Markfield
Markfield
Markfield is a commuter village sitting within both the National Forest and Charnwood Forest and in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. The settlement dates back to at least the time of the Norman conquest and is mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name...
. These are igneous intrusions of magma which formed within the existing Beacon Hill and Bradgate Formations. They cooled slowly, and at great depth to create their large crystaline structure, and were subsequently exposed by erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
of the uplifted rocks above. The Diorites are the cliffs and blocks seen along the Lin valley, through the so-called Little Matlock Gorge, and near Bradgate House. They are massive blocky outcrops made up of crystals of feldspar
Feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust....
, quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
and mafic
Mafic
Mafic is an adjective describing a silicate mineral or rock that is rich in magnesium and iron; the term is a portmanteau of the words "magnesium" and "ferric". Most mafic minerals are dark in color and the relative density is greater than 3. Common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine,...
minerals.
Cambrian Rocks
An area of rock overlooking Cropston Reservoir is of Hanging Rocks Formation, the only other example being at Hangingstone Hills, near the Outwoods, 4 km to the north. It is unclear if this is late PrecambrianPrecambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
or early Cambrian
Cambrian
The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...
. It is distinguished by conglomerates
Conglomerate (geology)
A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
with well-rounded volcanic pebbles mostly 5–15 mm but some up to 100 mm in diameter, which may have been smoothed on a volcanic shoreline before being washed, along with much finer material, into deeper water. These are younger than the Bradgate Formation, but again at a lower altitude. A possibly explanation is that it formed in a channel cut into the existing sea floor, but a preferred conclusion is that movement along fault-lines has relocated it relative to its surrounding rocks. The relationship between the different outcrops in Bradgate are made more obscure by the overlying peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
and Boulder clay
Boulder clay
Boulder clay, in geology, is a deposit of clay, often full of boulders, which is formed in and beneath glaciers and ice-sheets wherever they are found, but is in a special sense the typical deposit of the Glacial Period in northern Europe and North America...
, which mean the contacts between adjacent stratigraphic sequences
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
are nowhere exposed.
Previously classed as precambrian, but now accepted as early Cambrian
Cambrian
The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...
are the Brand Group of rocks which include Swithland Slate, locally important as a source of roof slates and gravestones. The nearby Swithland Wood
Swithland Wood
Swithland Wood is a public woodland in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire. Although close to the village of Swithland, it is almost entirely within the parish of Newtown Linford. It is just north of Bradgate Park and also near Woodhouse Eaves and Cropston...
has extensive outcrops and was one of the principal quarry areas until the mid 19th century. Rocks close in age to the slate can be seen in the 'stable pit', a medieval quarry near Bradgate House. This outcrop is part of the Brand Group, and is known as the Stable Pit Member, a Quartz arenite rock with a smooth glassy appearance. A metre-wide dyke
Dike (geology)
A dike or dyke in geology is a type of sheet intrusion referring to any geologic body that cuts discordantly across* planar wall rock structures, such as bedding or foliation...
of diorite
Diorite
Diorite is a grey to dark grey intermediate intrusive igneous rock composed principally of plagioclase feldspar , biotite, hornblende, and/or pyroxene. It may contain small amounts of quartz, microcline and olivine. Zircon, apatite, sphene, magnetite, ilmenite and sulfides occur as accessory...
also runs through the exposed rocks of the quarry, possibly of late Ordovician
Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
age, which places it at a similar age to the Mountsorrel
Mountsorrel
Mountsorrel is a village in Leicestershire on the River Soar, just south of Loughborough with a population in 2001 of 6,662 inhabitants.-Geography:...
granite formations.
Triassic rocks
During the TriassicTriassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
period, some 350 million years after those ancient rocks were formed, they were exposed due to the erosion of the rocks above. By this point they were part of the Pangea supercontinent, and desert conditions resulted in an accumulation of windblown Loess
Loess
Loess is an aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20–50 micrometre size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate...
, which now forms the Mercia Mudstone Group
Mercia Mudstone Group
The Mercia Mudstone Group is a sequence of sedimentary rocks which occurs widely in the United Kingdom, consisting of beds of various mudstones, siltstones and sandstones....
. With the subsequent sinking of the East Midlands crust, these deposits became waterlogged, and formed into red clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
. It is this clay that was used to make the bricks for Bradgate House. The mudstone is only visible where it was extracted, across the stream from Bradgate House. However, it covers much of the valley floor around and beneath Cropston Reservoir
Cropston Reservoir
Cropston Reservoir lies in Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, England. The dam and associated water works are in Cropston, while the bulk of the reservoir is in the neighbouring Newtown Linford parish. It was opened in May 1871 in a corner of Bradgate Park, a large expanse of open land just...
, – demonstrating that the present Lin valley was also there 220 million years ago.
Quaternary deposits
Bradgate Park and its surrounding areas were heavily overlain in the (geologically) recent past by glacial deposits of Boulder ClayBoulder clay
Boulder clay, in geology, is a deposit of clay, often full of boulders, which is formed in and beneath glaciers and ice-sheets wherever they are found, but is in a special sense the typical deposit of the Glacial Period in northern Europe and North America...
. The Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
period includes the last ice age. As the ice melted, some 10,000 years ago, the solid material within the ice settled over the 'natural' rocks below. This material includes unsorted clay and sand particles, small and large pebbles, and large stones and boulders. It travelled great distances within the ice sheet
Ice sheet
An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 km² , thus also known as continental glacier...
s and glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s, so individual rocks, whether on the ground, or within the great lengths of stone walls of the Park, may be local stone, or may be a specimen from northern Britain or even from northern Europe.
Precambrian fossils
The fossils at Bradgate and in other nearby Charnian rocks are the only known Precambrian fossils in Western Europe. Until 1957 it had been thought that complex life forms and perhaps life itself began with the CambrianCambrian
The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...
era, and that all rocks older than this developed in a world without plants or animals. The 1957 discoveries, by Roger Mason, in rocks near Woodhouse Eaves
Woodhouse Eaves
Woodhouse Eaves is a village located on the side of Beacon Hill, in the Charnwood Forest area of Leicestershire, England.It is a sizeable rural village, having several pubs and a few shops...
, subsequently named in his honour as Charnia
Charnia
Charnia is the genus name given to a frond-like Ediacaran lifeform with segmented ridges branching alternately to the right and left from a zig-zag medial suture. The genus Charnia was named after Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, England, where the first fossilised specimen was found.- Diversity...
masoni, required a re-evaluation of when life began. It also resulted in the re-classification of other rocks in Southern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Newfoundland, which have similar fossil marks. At Bradgate Park there are some 50 known examples. They mainly take the form of two-dimensional impressions of fronds and disks, and have at various times been described as seaweed, jelly fish, corals or sea anemones. They are now described as belonging to the Ediacara biota
Ediacara biota
The Ediacara biota consisted of enigmatic tubular and frond-shaped, mostly sessile organisms which lived during the Ediacaran Period . Trace fossils of these organisms have been found worldwide, and represent the earliest known complex multicellular organisms.Simple multicellular organisms such as...
, with no consensus on which kingdom, current or extinct, they should be placed. The Bradgate examples include Bradgatia
Bradgatia
Bradgatia is a bush-like Ediacaran fossil. It consists of six or more fronds radiating from a central anchor point at the base. It resembles a squashed cabbage in appearance. When multiple fossils are found together they are regularly spaced out rather than randomly distributed. It dominates the...
linfordensis and Charniodiscus concentricus as well as Charnia
Charnia
Charnia is the genus name given to a frond-like Ediacaran lifeform with segmented ridges branching alternately to the right and left from a zig-zag medial suture. The genus Charnia was named after Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, England, where the first fossilised specimen was found.- Diversity...
Masoni. Because of the risk of vandalism and damage, specific locations of these fossils are not disclosed and those wishing to investigate them should first of all seek the permission of the Bradgate Park Trust. None of the rocks in Bradgate Park should be chipped, hammered, or otherwise sampled, replicated or removed.
Flora and fauna
The landscape is rocky moorland with a covering of coarse grass and brackenBracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
. Several spinneys of woodland (pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
and mixed deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
) are enclosed by stone walls, and are not accessible to the public. There are a number of magnificent specimens of ancient oaks several hundreds of years old. The park is home to herds of red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
and fallow deer
Fallow Deer
The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
. Birdlife is profuse - the reservoir attracts many species of wildfowl, as does the river, and the spinneys provide secluded nesting areas for many other species, including large colonies of rooks
Rook (bird)
The Rook is a member of the Corvidae family in the passerine order of birds. Named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, the species name frugilegus is Latin for "food-gathering"....
. Species such as yellowhammer
Yellowhammer
The Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. It is common in all sorts of open areas with some scrub or trees and form small flocks in winter....
, reed bunting
Reed Bunting
The Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....
, skylark
Skylark
The Skylark is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range,...
and meadow pipit
Meadow Pipit
The Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, is a small passerine bird which breeds in much of the northern half of Europe and also northwestern Asia, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; there is also an isolated...
are a common sight in the open areas of the park. Deadly nightshade
Deadly nightshade
Atropa belladonna or Atropa bella-donna, commonly known as Belladonna, Devil's Berries, Death Cherries or Deadly Nightshade, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae, native to Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. The foliage and berries are extremely toxic, containing tropane...
is allowed to grow within the ruins of Bradgate House, having been originally established there during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by Leicester Polytechnic's School of Pharmacy for medicinal purposes.
Access
There are pay car parks at Cropston Reservoir, Newtown Linford, and Hunts Hill (at the top of the park near Old JohnOld John
Old John is a folly atop the highest hill in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, England. It was built in 1784, by the Grey family of Groby, and was originally an observation tower built to give the ladies a view of a race course which circled the top of the hill...
). The park is open from dawn until dusk all year round, though the public footpaths which run through the area mean that in practice the park is always accessible. There is a visitors' centre (with cafe) at Newtown Linford, and another in the centre of the park named the Deer Barn near Bradgate House.
It is also possible to travel to the park by bus. Bus routes 120 timetable 120 stops near the park entrance in Newtown Linford, while the 123 and some 54 buses run between Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
and Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
, travelling along Reservoir road, stopping within a short walk of the park's Hallgates entrance. There is a walking path from the village of Anstey
Anstey, Leicestershire
Anstey is a large semi-industrialised village in Leicestershire, England, located north west of Leicester in the borough of Charnwood. Its population was about 6,000 at the 2001 census although this is likely to have increased...
, easily accessible from Leicester by the 74 bus timetable 74. The path is signposted from Link Road, and crosses several fields before entering the park proper.
The park is within easy cycling distance from the city centre of Leicester.