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Summary

Unregistered park modified in the 19th century, surrounding a country house of probable 18th century origins but rebuilt following a fire in 1986

Monument Type(s):

• LANDSCAPE PARK (19th century to Late 19th century - 1830 AD? to 1900 AD?)

Full Description

The land at Oakfield was noted by the Thames & Chilterns survey of parkland and wood pasture <1> as having a high potential for nature conservation significance. The designed landscape may have been part of the adjacent Wokefield Park; the mansion in here formerly had the name 'Oakfield House' <2><3>, and there are documentary references to a deer park in 1319. The house at SU 6719 6626 later named Oakfield Lodge <4> and Oakfield <5> was a Listed Building until 2006 <6>, described as a country house in a landscaped parkland with large lake and weir stream. It was badly damaged by fire in 1986, and was rebuilt in a similar style externally though with a different modern internal layout <9>.

The Victoria County History <7> notes that the land of the manor of Wokefield was split in 1742, with three-fourths of the land becoming Wokefield Park, and the remaining fourth being Oakfield. Gelling <8> only records the placename Oakfield from 1817, but links it with Wokefield Banastre from 1375. Prior to the 1850s part of the park was in Sulhamstead Bannister and part in Stratfield Mortimer parishes.

On Rocque's map <2> 'Oakfild Green' is marked south of several houses here, but apart from the presence of the stream and fishpond, the land does not appear to be parkland at this time. The early 19th century Ordnance Survey Drawing <3> also shows the landscape before emparkment led to the creation of 'New Road' on the eastern side and the stopping up of the old route through the estate.

On the First Edition Ordnance Survey mapping <4> the grounds of the main house 'Oakfield Lodge' included a small gate lodge at the southwestern edge, the large Millbarn Pond with a boat house, and a building called Mill Barn, presumably once associated with a mill on the stream. By the time of the Second Epoch <5>, a large rectangular walled garden had been added to the grounds, north of the stream, although a less regularly shaped walled garden appears to have existed close to the house from at least the mid 19th century <10>. A further small building at the northern end of the parkland may have been another gate lodge or estate cottage; this is depicted along with the main house and its large lake on the Sulhamstead Lower End Tithe map <10>.

The GIS polygon for this park is approximate and has been created using the Historic Landscape Characterisation of designed landscape; a distinction has been made however between Oakfield and the parkland of Wokefield Park to the south.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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