Flitteriss Park
Encyclopedia
Flitteriss Park is an ancient deer park in the counties of Leicestershire
and Rutland
. It is a modern livestock farm today but has a rich history.
and royal hunting ground in 1250. Henry III
granted Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
the right to enclose the park with a ditch and hedge. This was to be enclosed within the Royal forest of Leighfield
. However, an inquest two years later found that "the wood is outside the said forest bordering the county of Leicester"
The park remained with the Earl and formed part of his Dower
to his widow until her death in 1312. Thereafter a succession of absent landlords made illegal hunting a rife practice in the park. In 1372, William Flore was paid to provide a palisade for the park. The same Flore's House still exists today in Oakham
. In 1373 the first mention is made of a hunting lodge at Flitteriss. The problem of absentee landlords was in part down to the fact that the park was stated to be held by the castle and manor of Oakham, but since the boundary territory was disputed, little care was taken with the parkland. By the end of the fourteenth century, the park was still maintained as a royal hunting park and the last record of such is in 1459 when Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham
held this and one other nearby park.
The hunting lodge remained intact for 550 years until it crumbled in 1920 and today only patchy ruins exist where it once stood. Original farm buildings still stand to the east of the existing farm. The stone used for construction was quarried on site. The remains of the house was used to build a house in the nearby village of Knossington.
Today the Park is permanent pasture farmland and little wooded area remains between the ancient woodlands of Ladywood and Cold Overton Park
. The highest point in Rutland is at Flitteriss Park at 197 m (646 ft) above sea level. Grid Reference: SK8271708539
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...
and Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
. It is a modern livestock farm today but has a rich history.
History
Flitteriss Park was enclosed by royal grant as a Medieval deer parkMedieval deer park
A medieval deer park was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank. The ditch was typically on the inside, thus allowing deer to enter the park but preventing them from leaving.-History:...
and royal hunting ground in 1250. Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
granted Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
Richard of Cornwall was Count of Poitou , 1st Earl of Cornwall and German King...
the right to enclose the park with a ditch and hedge. This was to be enclosed within the Royal forest of Leighfield
Leighfield
Leighfield is a civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. There is no settlement centre in the parish, only a few isolated properties. In the 2001 census it had a population of 10, which was the fourth smallest of Rutland's parish populations...
. However, an inquest two years later found that "the wood is outside the said forest bordering the county of Leicester"
The park remained with the Earl and formed part of his Dower
Dower
Dower or morning gift was a provision accorded by law to a wife for her support in the event that she should survive her husband...
to his widow until her death in 1312. Thereafter a succession of absent landlords made illegal hunting a rife practice in the park. In 1372, William Flore was paid to provide a palisade for the park. The same Flore's House still exists today in Oakham
Oakham
-Oakham's horseshoes:Traditionally, members of royalty and peers of the realm who visited or passed through the town had to pay a forfeit in the form of a horseshoe...
. In 1373 the first mention is made of a hunting lodge at Flitteriss. The problem of absentee landlords was in part down to the fact that the park was stated to be held by the castle and manor of Oakham, but since the boundary territory was disputed, little care was taken with the parkland. By the end of the fourteenth century, the park was still maintained as a royal hunting park and the last record of such is in 1459 when Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG , an English nobleman, great grandson of King Edward III on his mother's side, was best known as a military commander in the Hundred Years' War and in the Wars of the Roses....
held this and one other nearby park.
The hunting lodge remained intact for 550 years until it crumbled in 1920 and today only patchy ruins exist where it once stood. Original farm buildings still stand to the east of the existing farm. The stone used for construction was quarried on site. The remains of the house was used to build a house in the nearby village of Knossington.
Today the Park is permanent pasture farmland and little wooded area remains between the ancient woodlands of Ladywood and Cold Overton Park
Cold Overton Park
A hill with a trig point pillar to the east of Cold Overton Park Wood is, at 197m , the highest point in the county of Rutland, England. The summit is south of the road between Oakham and Cold Overton, and adjacent to the county boundary with Leicestershire. From the peak, there are views of...
. The highest point in Rutland is at Flitteriss Park at 197 m (646 ft) above sea level. Grid Reference: SK8271708539