Weald Country Park
Encyclopedia
Country park
A country park is an area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.-History:In the United Kingdom the term 'Country Park' has a special meaning. There are over 400 Country Parks in England alone . Most Country Parks were designated in the 1970s, under the...
in South Weald in the borough of Brentwood
Brentwood (borough)
Brentwood is a local government district and borough in Essex in the East of England.-History & Geography:The borough is named after the town of Brentwood which is the main development in the area. There are still large areas of woodland including Shenfield Common, Hartswood , Weald Country Park,...
in the English county of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. It is on the north-east fringe of Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
.
The current layout is largely the result of landscaping carried out in the naturalistic manner of Capability Brown
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
for Hugh Smith, lord of the manor from 1732 to 1745. Weald Hall, parts of which dated to the 16th century. In 1752, the estate was sold to Thomas Tower of Iver
Iver
Iver is in the south-east corner of the English county of Buckinghamshire and it forms one of the largest civil parishes in the South Bucks district.Iver railway station is in Richings Park.-Etymology:...
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, a lawyer and MP for Wareham
Wareham (UK Parliament constituency)
Wareham was a parliamentary borough in Dorset, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1302 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.-History:...
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. Christopher Tower succeeded as the owner in 1778 and immediately commissioned Robert Adam
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
to design a new dining room. On his death in 1810, his son, Christopher Thomas Tower, succeeded until 1867; he enlarged the estate and enclosed some commons
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
as "waste". Weald Hall, with 800 acres (3.2 km²) in 1841, was let to farmers in the 19th century sold by another C. T. Tower in 1946, when the estate was broken up though part of the park was retained for the Green Belt
Green belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...
of London. Some remnants remain of the Hall, which was demolished in 1950–51 due to war damage, in particular some steps leading to what used to be a folly
Folly
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...
in the park. The 16th-century lodge miscalled "Queen Mary's Chapel" because it was locally rumoured to have been used by Queen Mary
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...
for quiet prayer and contemplation, which used to be enclosed within Weald Hall's walled kitchen garden
Kitchen garden
The traditional kitchen garden, also known as a potager, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden - the ornamental plants and lawn areas...
, still remains at the edge of the park.
A very large (2.8 by 4.8 metres) painting of Weald Hall hung in a dining room at nearby Brentwood School
Brentwood School
Brentwood School is the name of some notable schools:*Brentwood College School, Mill Bay, British Columbia, Canada*Brentwood School , UK*Brentwood School *Brentwood School , U.S....
until the mid-1980s. Depicting the house and park before 18th Century alterations it is attributed to Dutch painter Jan Griffier the Elder (1652-1718). The school, which was founded by a former owner of the Hall, Sir Anthony Browne, sold the painting to a private collector at Sotheby's in November 1985.
The park is now managed by Essex County Council.
2012 Olympic Games
The park was due to be the venue for the mountain bikingMountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
events at the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
. However, following a visit by inspectors from the International Cycling Union, the site was considered insufficiently challenging for international competition and a new venue was sought. Hadleigh Country Park was chosen as the replacement venue.