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Summary

Late 13th century park, which outlasted Berkhamsted Castle

Monument Types

• DEER PARK (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1500 AD)

Associated Events

• Strip and map at The Highways, Northchurch Common, 2016 (Ref: 1762/NCH)

Full description

The earliest reference to a deer park at Berkhamsted is in 1296, when it is recorded in the ownership of the Earl of Cornwall <1>. Its location and extent are unknown, but it was presumably in the vicinity of Berkhamsted Castle (held by the Earl). A 19th century map records the bounds of 'Old Park' <2>, but the limits are likely to have changed in the intervening centuries. See [11777] for a possible boundary ditch.
The probable bounds shown by <3> are based on documentary and topographical evidence. 'This must have been one of the county's most beautiful and spectacular medieval parks'; it appears in ministers' accounts for c.1280 setting out 'the costs of the park', which had a boundary 2,300m long. This seems to have incorporated some old hedges; in the 14th century it was enlarged, taking in one of the demesne fields. The extensive documented history is given by <3>. The park survived the abandonment of the castle (which was succeeded in the late 16th century by Sir Edward Carey's new house, Berkhamsted Place [6563]) and appears on Saxton's 1577 map as well as an estate map drawn up by John Norden c.1612. Shortly afterwards the park was enlarged again by Prince Charles, but in 1628 all but 376 acres was disparked and leased as farmland <3>.
The boundary is shown as a dotted line labelled at intervals 'Bounds of Old Park' on the c.1839 tithe map <4>. No physical evidence of the boundary was revealed in investigation of a house plot at the western edge in 2016 <5>.

<1> Cantor, Leonard, 1983, The medieval parks of England: a gazetteer (Bibliographic reference). SHT6459.

<2> Birtchnell, P C, 1972, A short history of Berkhamsted; rev ed, Endpapers (Bibliographic reference). SHT2068.

<3> Rowe, Anne, 2009, Medieval parks of Hertfordshire, - p62-7 (Bibliographic reference). SHT6026.

<4> Tithe map and award, Great Berkhampstead, c.1839 (map) (Cartographic material). SHT1377.

<5> Hunn, Jonathan R, 2016, Archaeological strip, map & sample excavation: The Highways, Northchurch Common, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, RNO 3900 (Report). SHT18160.

Sources and further reading

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