Held at:	Natural England
Reference:	http://www.r5r.eu/me.html
Source:	Internet
Title:	Digital Archive - Moccas Court Parkland Plan
Place name:	Golden Valley
Date:	2013

Description:

The Moccas Estate and the Cornewall family are of great historic significance in Herefordshire’s Golden Valley, and also exercised substantial influence over surrounding areas including Ewyas Lacy.

 

Extract from Bryant’s Map of 1837

 

The July 2013 Parkland Plan set out a comprehensive assessment of the historical development and continuing preservation needs of the Moccas Court Park and Gardens. Extracts from the introduction to the plan are reproduced below:

 

‘This Parkland Plan was commissioned to inform the long-term management of the Grade II* Registered Park and Garden at Moccas Court Herefordshire. The Parkland Plan was made possible by funding available via Natural England’s Higher Level Stewardship Scheme. The plan aims to provide management and capital works recommendations which will conserve and enhance the character and significances of the historic designed landscape, whilst identifying, protecting and conserving the many archaeological, historical, cultural, and ecological features of the site and, at the same time, accommodating environmental changes.

To this end, a key ambition is to identify the most suitable means of managing the park’s physical fabric – particularly those aspects which combine to form the park’s key significances – to secure for the future Moccas Court’s remarkable and distinctive parkland landscape. Information provided in this plan will be used to inform … the conservation, repair, consolidation and, where appropriate, restoration of the historic landscape. …

Our historical research has, in the main, confirmed the findings of the Debois Report that the western half of the Moccas Court landscape – to the east of Depple Wood and to the west of the drive from Cross End Farm to the parish church - was imparked between c.1790 and 1835 in a manner that suggests ‘Capability’ Brown’s survey of 1778 provided the inspiration. Our survey of surviving parkland trees suggests that c.1810 was the climax of this process. We also know that George Amyand Cornewall (1748-1819) was greatly influenced by the local picturesque writers in the setting out of his grounds and the manner of his planting and it is our vision to return to this landscape. Fortunately, the 25” O.S. plans of c.1885 display the grounds of this period at their climax. We have also discovered an earlier layer of landscape interest at Moccas dating from the mid-18th century, reflected in some contemporary poetry, the Lambe Davis survey of 1772 and a prospect by the watercolourist, Paul Sandby. It seems that Moccas was regarded as a ferme ornée in this period with an embellished pastoral landscape, which included some arable fields. Sir George’s landscaping left arable fields in the eastern half of our study area, where they exist today…. ‘

 

The index pages to the report are shown as images below to indicate the scope and content of the report. The full report can be downloaded here in PDF file format.

 

Observations:

Substantial further information on Moccas Park and Court including historical maps, photographs, ecological, archaeological and hydrology surveys, and land use studies can be found on the internet at http://www.r5r.eu/me.html