Hampton Court Park

Last updated

Home Park
Site of Special Scientific Interest
HamptonCourtParkTrees.jpg
Location Greater London
Grid reference TQ167683
InterestBiological
Area88.9 hectares
Notification 2014
Location map Magic Map
Hampton Court, from the park HamptonCourtFromLongWater.jpg
Hampton Court, from the park

Hampton Court Park, also known as Home Park, is a walled royal park managed by the Historic Royal Palaces. [1] The park lies between the gardens of Hampton Court Palace and Kingston upon Thames and Surbiton in south west London, England, mostly within the post town of East Molesey, but with its eastern extremity within the post town of Kingston. In 2014, part of the park was designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (with Bushy Park and Hampton Court Golf Course). It takes up most of the final (lowest) meander of the non-tidal reaches of the River Thames and is mainly divided between a golf course, meadows interspersed with trees used for deer, seasonal horse grazing and wildlife. A corner of the park is used annually for the Hampton Court Flower Show and the part nearest to the palace has the Long Water an early set of hydro-engineered ponds or lakes, fed by water from the distant River Colne, as are the bodies of water in the neighbouring park, Bushy Park. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Location

Plant and animal life

Hampton Court Park is a walled deer park of around 700 acres (280 ha) (1.1 sq mi), with a herd of fallow deer, [5] and has been open to the public since 1894. Verges by the A308 road lightly scattered with deciduous trees line the northern wall. These trees, with few evergreens, continue across much of the park. There are three avenues of lime trees that radiate across the park in a crow's foot pattern from Hampton Court Gardens. One runs north-eastwards towards Kingston; one runs south-eastwards towards Ditton; and the third runs eastwards and includes the Long Water lake.

Cardinal Wolsey enclosed with a wall about 2,000 acres (800 ha) to form this park and Bushy Park for the establishment of an exceptionally grand house over the former manor house of Hampton. It formed what became before his death Hampton Court Palace, taken over by Henry VIII. The king was an avid hunter and had the park used for breeding rabbits and/or hares, pheasants and partridges. [6]

The inventory of Cromwell's goods made in 1659 records "about 700 deer", compared to "about 1,700" and "about 30 red deer" in Bushy Park. [6]

Mediaeval Oak

The Mediaeval Oak - said to be 750 years old Mediaeval Oak.jpg
The Mediaeval Oak – said to be 750 years old

A tree, called the Mediaeval Oak (or Methuselah's Oak), in one of the tees for the golf course in the southern part of the park, is said to be 750 years old.[ citation needed ]

Drained water meadow since medieval period

The public towpath by the lowest part of the non-tidal Thames above Teddington Lock lies in all other directions apart from the palace (west). An emergency conditions flood meadow but not a lowered "Flood Storage Area" most of it is in planning (policy Flood Zone 2 or 3, and mostly in long term flood risk zones ranging across its four categories (very low to high risk) [7] [8] High risk, affecting a small portion means that each year this area has a chance of flooding of greater than 3.3%.[ citation needed ]

North of the road and a cluster of houses connected with the parks is a narrow set of Paddocks and Bushy Park; [6] the Royal Mews graze horses on the park in the summer.[ citation needed ]

The Long Water is a large garden canal constructed by Charles II, and given a curved extension at the palace end by William III. It is now the namesake of a lake of the 1730s in Kensington Gardens (see The Long Water), and indeed other large garden canals at Wrest Park and elsewhere. It flows gently in the park roughly eastward from the back of Hampton Court Palace ending at the Golden Jubilee Fountain and is underground connected to a landscaped channel, the Longford River after the Upper Lodge Water Gardens and the Diana Fountain, Bushy Park.[ citation needed ]

Flower Show

The annual Hampton Court Flower Show is held in 25 acres (10 ha) of the park. It is organized by the Royal Horticultural Society and began in 1990. Many prefer it to the better known Chelsea Flower Show because there is more space, and plants and equipment can be bought at the show. As it is the world's most popular event [ citation needed ] of this type extensive traffic jams can build up. The show has sometimes been criticized for risking damage to historic features in the park.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton Court Palace</span> Historic royal palace in Richmond, Greater London

Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, 12 miles southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond Park</span> Royal Park in London, England

Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park. It is now a national nature reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation and is included, at Grade I, on Historic England's Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England. Its landscapes have inspired many famous artists and it has been a location for several films and TV series.

Richmond is a town in south-west London, 8.2 miles (13.2 km) west-southwest of Charing Cross. It stands on the River Thames, and features many parks and open spaces, including Richmond Park, and many protected conservation areas, which include much of Richmond Hill. A specific Act of Parliament protects the scenic view of the River Thames from Richmond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bushy Park</span> Public park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at 445 hectares in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton Court Park and is a few minutes' walk from the west side of Kingston Bridge. It is surrounded by Teddington, Hampton, Hampton Hill and Hampton Wick and is mainly within the post towns of Hampton and Teddington, those of East Molesey and Kingston upon Thames taking the remainder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddington Lock</span> Series of locks on the River Thames in London

Teddington Lock is a complex of three locks and a weir on the River Thames between Ham and Teddington in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. Historically in Middlesex, it was first built in 1810.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coombe, Kingston upon Thames</span> Neighbourhood in Kingston upon Thames, London, England

Coombe is a historic neighbourhood in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in south west London, England. It sits on high ground, east of Norbiton. Most of the area was part of the former Municipal Borough of Malden and Coombe before local government re-organisation in 1965. It now shares borders with the boroughs of Merton and Sutton with, to the north, the small, inter-related neighbourhoods of Kingston Hill and Kingston Vale, beyond which is Richmond Park in Richmond; and Roehampton/Putney Vale in Wandsworth. To the east are public playing fields and Wimbledon Common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thames Ditton</span> Human settlement in England

Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross in central London. Thames Ditton is just outside Greater London but within the Greater London Urban Area as defined by the Office for National Statistics. Its clustered village centre and shopping area on a winding High Street is surrounded by housing, schools and sports areas. Its riverside faces the Thames Path and Hampton Court Palace Gardens and golf course in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its most commercial area is spread throughout its conservation area and contains restaurants, cafés, shops and businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beverley Brook</span> River in London, England

Beverley Brook is a 14.3 km (8.9 mi)-long river in the south-western suburbs of London, England. It rises in Worcester Park and joins the River Thames to the north of the Putney Embankment at Barn Elms, having flowed through the green spaces of Wimbledon Common, Richmond Park, Barnes Common and Putney Lower Common on its course. It is followed for much of its course by the Beverley Brook Walk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton Court Garden Festival</span>

The Hampton Court Garden Festival is an annual British flower show, held in early July of each year. The show is run by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) at Hampton Court Palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The show features show gardens, floral marquees and pavilions, talks, and demonstrations. Erected on the north and south sides of the Long Water in Hampton Court Park, it is the second major national show after the Chelsea Flower Show, but has a different character, focusing more on environmental issues, growing your own food, vegetables and cookery, as well as selling gardening accessories, plants and flowers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton Court railway station</span> National Rail station in Surrey, England

Hampton Court railway station is a suburban terminus station at East Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge in the county of Surrey, 100 yards short of Hampton Court Bridge, the midpoint of which is a boundary of Greater London. The station is 14 miles 76 chains (24.1 km) down the line from London Waterloo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walking in London</span>

Walking is a popular recreational activity in London, despite traffic congestion. There are many streets that provide interesting walks, especially within historic central London, In addition there are attractive commons, parks, canals, and disused railway tracks that provide space for walks. This includes Wimbledon Common, Epping Forest, Hampstead Heath, and the eight Royal Parks: Hyde Park, Regent's Park, Richmond Park, etc. In recent years access to canals and rivers, including the Regent's Canal, and the River Thames has been greatly improved, and as well a number of long-distance walking routes have been created that link green spaces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molesey</span> District in Surrey, England

Molesey is a suburban district comprising two villages, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton Court Bridge</span> Bridge over the Thames linking London with Surrey, England

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longford River</span> River in England

The Longford River is an artificial waterway, a distributary designed to embellish a park, that diverts water 12 miles (19 km) from the River Colne at Longford near Colnbrook in England, to Bushy Park and Hampton Court Palace. Its main outlet is to the reach above Molesey Lock with lesser pond outlet channels to that above Teddington Lock. The waterway was built for King Charles I in 1638/39 as a water supply for Hampton Court. Water features in Bushy Park were added in 1710. North of the A30, its course has been diverted more than once as London Heathrow Airport has grown. Its cascades, grassed banks and fountains in Bushy Park were restored and reopened to the public in 2009 to close to their original state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thames Ditton Island</span>

Three river islands (aits) form a linear group, close to the junction of the two main old streets of Thames Ditton village, in the River Thames in a corner of modern Surrey, on the Kingston reach above Teddington Lock. Thames Ditton Island, the dominant ait, is 350 yards (320 m) long and has 48 houses with gardens ; Boyle Farm Island has one house; Swan Island, between the two, is the smallest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A309 road</span> Road in England

The A309 is a mostly primary status A-road that runs in two sections, a short section in Twickenham and Teddington as a non-primary status A-road, as well as the much longer primary A- Road section that runs from Hampton Court to Hook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Fountain, Bushy Park</span> Sculptural fountain in Bushy Park, London, England

The Diana Fountain in Bushy Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, is a seventeenth-century statue ensemble and water feature in an eighteenth-century setting with a surrounding pool and mile long tree lined vistas which honors the Roman Goddess Diana. Originally created for Somerset House in the 1630s, and remodelled about 1690, the fountain has stood since 1713 in Bushy Park, and now forms a large traffic island in Chestnut Avenue.

St Albans Riverside is a park in Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is linear with long sides between the Thames and Hampton Court Road. It runs from southeast of Garrick's Villa and his Temple to Shakespeare, Garrick's Lawn, Thames Street to a point 90 metres southeast of the interrupting small bridge that serves Tagg's Island.

References

  1. Richmond Borough Council Archived 2015-08-26 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Bushy Park and Home Park citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  3. "Map of Bushy Park and Home Park". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  4. "Bushy Park and Home Park Unit List". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  5. "Home Park". Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 'Spelthorne Hundred: Hampton Court Palace, parks', in A History of the County of Middlesex : Volume 2, General; ed. William Page (London, 1911), pp. 386-388. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol2/pp386-388
  7. Flood Map for Planning Service UK Government, 2018
  8. Long Term Flood Risk UK Government, 2018

51°24′04″N0°19′26″W / 51.401°N 0.324°W / 51.401; -0.324