Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

Identifying and Protecting Historic Parks and Gardens in England: Celebrating Forty Years of ‘the Register’

Dr Victoria Thomson, Gardens Trust Conservation Committee Member

Short description of talk:
2024 marks the fortieth anniversary of the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. The Register identifies over 1700 historic parks and gardens, which then benefit from a high degree of protection through the planning system. What now seems like a self-evidently necessary mechanism for ensuring the survival of these widespread and much-loved elements of the historic environment had a difficult emergence, though: the Register appeared around a hundred years after monuments first received protection, and forty years after similar measures for buildings. The story did not end with its introduction, either: there have been a number of ups and downs in the ensuing decades. This talk explores that story from the beginning to the present day, covering the origins and evolution of the Register, and its application and effectiveness, before considering the future of the protection of historic parks and gardens.

A lecture in Partnership with the Yorkshire Gardens Trust

7pm in the Tempest Anderson Lecture Theatre in the Yorkshire Museum

All welcome to this free event; although donations are welcome.

Image: The Grade II-registered Museum Gardens, York

Member’s report

2024 marks 40 years of the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. It is produced by Historic England and can be accessed online via the National Heritage List for England (NHLE). Entries include a plan of the designated area, an outline of the historic development and a detailed description.  Entries are graded :-

• Grade 1   ‘of exceptional interest’
• Grade 2*  ‘of more than special interest’
• Grade 2   ‘of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them’

There have been various protections prior to 1984

MONUMENTS

The designation was introduced in 1882 and there are currently 19,997 scheduled monuments; consent is needed for works.

BUILDINGS

The designation was introduced in 1944. There are currently 379,467 listed buildings requiring Listed Building consent for works.

CONSERVATION AREAS

Introduced in 1967 with 10,000 designated ‘Conservation area consent’ needed for demolition.

WORLD HERITAGE SITES

Introduced in 1972 with around 1,200 sites. The first in UK were in 1986, one of which was Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey.

There have been several acts of parliament since 1944 where Parks and Gardens have been discussed but only the ’National Heritage Act 1983’ has given protection to Parks and Gardens as quoted below:-

‘The commission and the appropriate Council shall prepare lists and plans of gardens, parks, designated landscapes and other lands which appear to them to be of special architectural, historic, artistic, silvicultural or horticultural interest and shall publish such lists and plans, with gradings, and may amend them from time to time for the purpose of identifying such gardens, parks, designed landscapes and other lands for the guidance of local authorities and other persons or bodies and their protection from damage by development in them or in their settings’

This took effect on 1st April 1984. The first parks and gardens were added to the Register on 10th May 1984 one of which was York’s Museum Gardens (grade 2). There are now over 1,700 registered parks and gardens including Trafalgar Square.

Historic England adds sites of ‘special historic interest’ to the register under 4 selection guides – Rural Landscapes, Urban Landscapes, Institutional Landscapes and Landscapes of Remembrance. The process involves research, a site visit, further research, preparation of a report, consultation and a recommendation. There is an online application form for adding or removing sites. However registration does not guarantee protection, threats include fragmentation, development and neglect. Deregistration may occur when a park or garden no longer has the required special historic interest as happened to Harlow Water Gardens in Essex.

Historic England produces an annual Heritage at Risk register. Parks and Gardens have been assessed since 2008, 7% of the 1,595 parks and gardens were at high risk, 26% were at medium risk and 67% at low risk, neglect and development being the main factors.

Planning protections are triggered by a need for planning permission, National policy requires that ‘great weight’ be given to conservation of parks and gardens with ‘clear and convincing justification’ for harm and substantial harm should be wholly exceptional. However it is still relatively low profile in practice, not being used to its full potential and the planning system is not always triggered. It is hoped in the future that there will be more entries on the register, an improved use of planning protections and a wider appreciation and use.

Jon Coulson