Haddon Hall is home to Lord and Lady Edward Manners and has been owned by the family for the last 900 years. For the first time, the Medieval Private Park is being opened for guided walks and talks.
Whilst it is well known that Haddon is one of the great survivors of the Medieval age, having been left under lock and key by its family for 200 years, it is less well known that its Medieval Park, that encircles the hall, has also remained largely undisturbed and is remarkable for its diversity of habitats, unaltered landscapes and stretches of ancient pasture.
Haddon’s Medieval Park, recognised as nationally significant through its inclusion on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens at Grade 1, the highest possible designation, is now, for the first time, being made available to be seen and enjoyed by our visitors via a new programme of guided walks and talks.
The Park, which reaches to 187 hectares, includes parkland, woodland, a significant stretch of the River Wye, water meadows, wetlands and former stretches of farmland. Almost half of the park is particularly unusual, as it is land that has not been touched by agricultural systems for at least 900 years, making it of significant scientific and ecological interest.
In 2019, Haddon Estate received funding from Natural England and DEFRA for the continuation of its Medieval Parkland Restoration Plan, under an organic Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship scheme. The intention is to complete the restoration of the parkland to its original 14th century plan, and to return the landscape to a naturally regenerative open woodland pasture, just as it would have been 700 years ago.
Flowing through the Medieval Park is the Derbyshire Wye, a relatively short river covering some 15 miles in its total length. Filtered predominantly by limestone, the Wye’s water runs extremely clear meaning it is a perfect birthplace for all manner of species that live in and around the river.