Historic Parks and Gardens
Historic parks and gardens are an important part of our
heritage. They represent where man has intervened in the
natural environment, producing a designed landscape. Being
within 'the Garden of England', this Borough has a particular
wealth of these features as well as in the whole south-east region.
Please see the attachment at the foot of this page for
details of Historic Parks and Gardens within Tunbridge Wells
Borough.
Selection
The National Heritage Act 1983 enables
English Heritage to compile a Register of Parks and Gardens and
other land of special historic interest. The Register is
compiled with the aim of identifying important historic parks and
gardens in order to increase awareness and to encourage their
protection and preservation. There is also a compendium of
the Historic Parks & Gardens of Kent, which represents the most
historically significant of Kent's Parks and Gardens.
As with listed buildings the gardens on
the English Heritage Register are graded as follows:
- Grade I - parks and gardens which, by reason of their historic
layout, features and architectural ornament considered together,
make them of exceptional interest
- Grade II* - parks and gardens which are not of exceptional
interest but nevertheless of great quality
- Grade II - parks and gardens which are of special interest
What makes a park or garden of historic
interest?
Those on the Kent Compendium have no grade but have met the
relevant criteria to be included.
The majority of these sites are, or started life as, the grounds
of private houses. Public parks and cemeteries can also form
important categories.
As well as being of particular historic interest, registered
sites might also be of note for other reasons such as their amenity
value, or for nature conservation. Although not relevant to
an assessment of the site in terms of the Register, such attributes
need to be given consideration to ensure the sensitive management
of the site.
Whether or not a site merits national recognition through
registration or the local Kent list will depend primarily upon the
age of its main layout and features, its rarity as an example of
historic landscape design and the quality of the landscaping.
For registration purposes, therefore, what makes a site of
interest is the survival, quality and interest of its historic
structure.
For a garden, the structure will usually include the basic
pattern of its layout which might, for example, be formal with
terraces, straight walks and hedges, formal pools and canals, or
informal with winding paths through lawns, rockwork and
informally-planted trees and shrubberies. For a park it may
include the historic boundaries and entrances, the routes of the
approach drives and rides, the siting of the main buildings, the
underlying landform, built features which provide structure and
focal points in the design, lakes and rivers and the planting of
parkland trees, clumps, shelter belts and woodland.
Protection & Consents
Although inclusion of a historic park or garden on the Register
or the Kent Inventory in itself brings no additional statutory
controls, local authorities are required by central government to
make provision for the protection of the historic environment in
their policies and their allocation of resources.
Registration of heritage assets is a material consideration
in planning terms under Planning Policy Statement 5 (PPS5) and the
Core Strategy, Policy CS5. So, following an application for
development which would affect a registered park or garden, local
planning authorities must, when determining whether or not to grant
permission, take into account the historic interest of the
site.
Local authorities are also specifically guided towards
protecting registered parks and gardens when preparing development
plans (Planning Policy Guidance Note 15, paras 1.6 and 2.1).
As a result, the Tunbridge Wells Borough Local Plan contains
policies to help safeguard the historic parks and gardens that
lie within the area covered. These usually stress in
particular those sites included in the National Register, the best
examples also covering parks and gardens of more local interest.
With regard to Policy EN11 of the Local Plan, this means that
development must have careful regard to the important landscape
architecture of the site and the setting of the historic
buildings within the site.
The Borough Council encourages positive management and
maintenance of Historic Parks and Gardens. As part of
the wider objective of conserving features of importance, the
Council may seek agreement to a management plan to conserve the
park and garden, promote good land management practice and
encourage best use of resources. Opening to the public may
also be a way of extending the wider appreciation of these
important heritage assets.
The fact that a garden is included in the register or Kent
Inventory does not mean, however, that there is any
public right of access unless it is separately advertised by the
owner as being open to the public.
LocalView - Heritage
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LocalView - Heritage is an interactive
map that allows you to search for information relating
to our historical environment. You are able to search the map
for information on Historic Parks and Gardens within the Tunbridge
Wells Borough.
English Heritage Register of Parks and
Gardens of Special Historic Interest: Kent
Kent Compendium of Historic Parks and
Gardens for Tunbridge Wells Borough
Weblinks