Stockwood Park
Encyclopedia
Stockwood Park is a large urban park
in Luton
, Bedfordshire
, in the Farley Hill
estate. With period formal gardens, leading crafts museums and extensive golfing facilities, it is about 100 hectares in area.
and trades which give visitors a flavour of life in Bedfordshire before the Industrial Revolution
.
The collection of rural crafts and trades on display at Stockwood Discovery Centre was amassed by T W Bagshawe and is one of the finest regionally based collections in the country.
When Stockwood house was built in 1740 by John Crawley, the grounds were laid out in a fashion befitting one of Bedfordshire’s leading landowners. The enclosed walled garden
s provided shelter for growing fruit and vegetables for the house. One of the walled gardens now displays a series of gardens illustrating the changing styles of gardening through the ages.
Soon after the outbreak of WW2 the house was converted to a hospital catering for children suffering with hip diseases. The patients were transferred by converted single deck buses from the Bartholomews Hospital at Swanley in Kent. It was considered to be too dangerous in that area because it was on the edge of the balloon barrage. However Luton saw enemy activity due to the nearby motor works. Initially there was not any X-ray facility there, but one was added later and housed in the stable block. Before that installation, patients were taken by private car to nearby Luton and Dunstable hospital. The house was then named Alexandra Hospital for Children with Hip Disease.
The park is sometimes used by Irish Travellers as a halting site.
(12th to 15th century) shows herbs and plants grown for medicinal, cookery and dyeing uses. The 16th century garden is laid out in a knots, a typical feature of the Elizabethan
garden. The knots were planted out with germander
, hyssop
and box with the open spaces filled with brick dust or crushed shells to contrast the greenery.
Clipped hedges and urns decorate the small formal Dutch garden
, replicating those designed by William Kent
for Alexander Pope
’s garden at Twickenham
and the Wilderness Garden at Great Linford Manor
.
English 17th century gardens were heavily influenced by Dutch
, French
and the Italian
styles. The Italian Garden is centered around a well head that once stood in front of Stockwood House.
The Victorian era
was a time when plant collectors travelled the world in search of rare and exotic species and styles. Rock garden
s and formal flower bedding
schemes were also popular, decorated with a bright and showy variety of half-hardy plants
. The invention of the practical mowing machine
in the 1830s made lawns easier to manage and by 1860 were an essential part of garden equipment.
The Improvement Garden is a classical garden with sculptures full of allusions to ancient Greece
and Rome
.
Urban park
An urban park, is also known as a municipal park or a public park, public open space or municipal gardens , is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality...
in Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, in the Farley Hill
Farley Hill
-Barbados:*Farley Hill, currently a national park in the parish of Saint Peter, Barbados.-United Kingdom:*Farley Hill, a suburb of Luton, Bedfordshire, England.*Farley Hill, a village in Berkshire, England....
estate. With period formal gardens, leading crafts museums and extensive golfing facilities, it is about 100 hectares in area.
Museums
Stockwood Discovery Centre housed in the 18th century stables of the former Stockwood House has displays of rural craftsRural crafts
Rural crafts refers to the traditional crafts production that is carried on, simply for everyday practical use, in the agricultural countryside. Once widespread and commonplace, the survival of some rural crafts is now in doubt....
and trades which give visitors a flavour of life in Bedfordshire before the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
.
The collection of rural crafts and trades on display at Stockwood Discovery Centre was amassed by T W Bagshawe and is one of the finest regionally based collections in the country.
History
The park was originally the estate and grounds to Stockwood house, which was demolished in 1964.When Stockwood house was built in 1740 by John Crawley, the grounds were laid out in a fashion befitting one of Bedfordshire’s leading landowners. The enclosed walled garden
Walled garden
A walled garden is specifically a garden enclosed by high walls for horticultural rather than security purposes, though traditionally all gardens have been hedged about or walled for protection from animal or human intruders...
s provided shelter for growing fruit and vegetables for the house. One of the walled gardens now displays a series of gardens illustrating the changing styles of gardening through the ages.
Soon after the outbreak of WW2 the house was converted to a hospital catering for children suffering with hip diseases. The patients were transferred by converted single deck buses from the Bartholomews Hospital at Swanley in Kent. It was considered to be too dangerous in that area because it was on the edge of the balloon barrage. However Luton saw enemy activity due to the nearby motor works. Initially there was not any X-ray facility there, but one was added later and housed in the stable block. Before that installation, patients were taken by private car to nearby Luton and Dunstable hospital. The house was then named Alexandra Hospital for Children with Hip Disease.
The park is sometimes used by Irish Travellers as a halting site.
Gardens
The Medieval GardenHortus conclusus
Hortus conclusus is a Latin term, meaning literally "enclosed garden". "The word 'garden' is at root the same as the word 'yard'. It means an enclosure", observed Derek Clifford, at the outset of a series of essays on garden design, in which he skirted the conventions of the hortus conclusus...
(12th to 15th century) shows herbs and plants grown for medicinal, cookery and dyeing uses. The 16th century garden is laid out in a knots, a typical feature of the Elizabethan
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
garden. The knots were planted out with germander
Teucrium
Teucrium is a genus of perennial plants, of the family Lamiaceae. Common names for this genus include germanders. These species are herbs, shrubs or subshrubs...
, hyssop
Hyssop
Hyssop is a genus of about 10-12 species of herbaceous or semi-woody plants in the family Lamiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to central Asia. They are aromatic, with erect branched stems up to 60 cm long covered with fine hairs at the tips. The leaves are narrow oblong, 2–5 cm...
and box with the open spaces filled with brick dust or crushed shells to contrast the greenery.
Clipped hedges and urns decorate the small formal Dutch garden
Dutch garden
The Dutch garden is distinguished by its dense atmosphere and efficient use of space. On an international level, a garden with tulips is also easily labelled as a Dutch Garden....
, replicating those designed by William Kent
William Kent
William Kent , born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.He was baptised as William Cant.-Education:...
for Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
’s garden at Twickenham
Twickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
and the Wilderness Garden at Great Linford Manor
Linford Manor
Linford Manor is an old mansion or manor house converted into a recording studio complex in Great Linford, Milton Keynes, England. It is now owned by Pete Winkelman who is chairman of football club....
.
English 17th century gardens were heavily influenced by Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
styles. The Italian Garden is centered around a well head that once stood in front of Stockwood House.
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
was a time when plant collectors travelled the world in search of rare and exotic species and styles. Rock garden
Rock Garden
The Rock Garden or Rock Garden of Chandigarh is a Sculpture garden in Chandigarh, India, also known as Nek Chand's Rock Garden after its founder Nek Chand, a government official who started the garden secretly in his spare time in 1957. Today it is spread over an area of forty-acres , it is...
s and formal flower bedding
Flowerbed
A flowerbed is an element of many gardens. A flowerbed is a garden area especially prepared for growing flowers. The area is typically marked off, often by low-lying structures of brick or similar materials, designed to highlight the flowers and reduce the spread of weeds...
schemes were also popular, decorated with a bright and showy variety of half-hardy plants
Hardiness (plants)
Hardiness of plants describe their ability to survive adverse growing conditions. It is usually limited to discussions of climatic adversity. Thus a plant's ability to tolerate cold, heat, drought, flooding, or wind are typically considered measurements of hardiness. Hardiness of plants is defined...
. The invention of the practical mowing machine
Lawn mower
A lawn mower is a machine that uses a revolving blade or blades to cut a lawn at an even length.Lawn mowers employing a blade that rotates about a vertical axis are known as rotary mowers, while those employing a blade assembly that rotates about a horizontal axis are known as cylinder or reel...
in the 1830s made lawns easier to manage and by 1860 were an essential part of garden equipment.
The Improvement Garden is a classical garden with sculptures full of allusions to ancient Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.