Part 5 - Chilston Pines and Ponds
Transcription
Part 5 - Chilston Pines and Ponds
5. Chilston Pines and Ponds Introduction The Chilston Pines and Ponds site is part of the old Chilston Park estate, which once covered a large area stretching up to the ridge of the North Downs beyond Lenham. Chilston Pines and Ponds are situated right in the middle of the county of Kent, in the parish of Boughton Malherbe. It lies to the south west of Lenham, a large historic village dating from medieval times. Chilston Park is one of a series of Historic Parks and Gardens constructed along the Greensand Ridge and is not far from Mote Park, another grand house and park in the centre of Maidstone, and Leeds Castle. The Chilston Pines and Ponds site is now separated into ‘The Ponds’ and ‘The Pines’ by the High Speed 1 Railway. However, it is possible to walk from one to the other along a small section of quiet road. Chilston Ponds once formed part of the main entrance drive to Chilston Park and the grand Chilston House, dating back to the 18th century. Remnants of the historic parkland landscape still survive in the form of ancient oaks. An ice house once used to keep food fresh for the main house is located in this area of the park. The pond that was used to supply the ice is today home to a wide range of insects and plant life. Elsewhere on the site, the grassland is being grazed to help restore a range of wild flowers. 5 Location Chilston Pines and Ponds: OS map 137 Grid reference: TQ 891508 Approaching from Lenham, the main entrance to Chilston Pines and Ponds is 200m on your right after the crossroads. Access can also be gained via a stile and also a kissing gate as shown on the sketch in the introduction. Chilston Pines and Ponds is situated just outside the southern boundary of the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The site is bounded by the M20 to the south and Lenham Heath Road to the north, with the High Speed 1 Railway to the Channel Tunnel separating the Pines from the Ponds. A long distance footpath/National trail – the North Downs Way - passes close by as does the Stour Valley Walk, which starts in Lenham. For more location maps of Chilston Pines and Ponds please visit the ‘sites’ page at the HCC website www.heathscc.co.uk and press the highlighted ‘Part of Chilston Park’ text to link to ‘multi map’ Advice on parking and access can be sought from Ruth Lovering 01622 842 257 (email: [email protected]) or Karen Gillett 01622 859 392 6 Features of Chilston Pines and Ponds Landscape Chilston Pines and Ponds is the eastern most of a line of historic parks in the borough of Maidstone. It is one of six sites in Maidstone Borough identified on the English Heritage Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. Chilston House (now a hotel) can still be seen from certain parts of the site and again the size of the Park and its effect on the landscape and the social structure of the area can still be appreciated. The pine trees are a landscape feature of the park, thought to have been planted by early occupants of Chilston House to remind them of Scotland. These trees emphasise the long established tradition of landscaping around grand houses to reflect the changing attitudes towards nature, landscape and our interaction with it. As such, Chilston Park provides an example of the ‘landscape gardening’ movement which was very much a feature of grand houses from the 16 th century onwards. Historically, much parkland would have been semi-natural grassland maintained through grazing (often deer or cattle) with scattered trees, at least some of which would have been maintained through pollarding. Pollarding is similar to pruning in your garden and involves the removal of all branches from the tree above a certain height. Pollarding provided a sustainable timber resource and would have been repeated when the timber was of sufficient size. In grazed areas deer and cattle eat any new shoots, therefore View to Chilston House (now a hotel) View of Chilston Pines branches need to be cut above the grazing height. The result of pollarding is increased thickening of the branches and trunk. Parklands, such as Chilston Park, still provide 7 an important matrix of habitats for a variety of species. Characteristic fungi on ancient oak Veteran Trees Pollarded Oak at Chilston Ponds Biodiversity The Chilston Pines and Ponds site has been designated by the Kent Wildlife Trust as a ‘Local Wildlife Site’. The main ecological and biodiversity features are the numerous veteran trees within the site. A remnant of the historic parkland landscape still survives in the ancient pollarded oaks. Old trees, and often their associated fallen wood, are extremely valuable in supporting a variety of fungi, lichens, bats, many beetles and other invertebrates. Old or veteran/ancient trees are often venerated. Old gnarled trees are a feature both of the countryside and human interaction with it. Literature and art abound with examples of old trees with heavy drooping boughs. Often these trees are given human characteristics, both good and evil, which may include the ability to speak and even move (as characterised by the ‘Ents’ in Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings). For these reasons the conservation of these trees takes on an importance beyond the physical and biodiversity reasons. Veteran trees have the potential to inspire and enthuse people, and to encourage interaction with the natural world. At Chilston these trees certainly provide a ‘WOW’ factor. However, following at least a century of neglect, many of these trees are extremely vulnerable. Continued neglect may cause many more to decline. HCC are now looking after these fantastic trees as well as planting new ones, which will mean that generations to come will have access to these wonderful old features of the countryside 8 Hedgerows In many parts of England, hedgerows are an intrinsic part of the farmed landscape. Hedgerows are included in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) and locally in the Kent BAP, as important habitats of conservation concern in their own right. Indeed hedgerows are the most significant wildlife habitat over large stretches of lowland UK and are an essential refuge for a great many woodland and farmland wildlife. important source of firewood. Consequently, hedgerows are a living part of our history and many are archaeological features in their own right. Hedgerows provide a record of our use of the countryside over the centuries. For example, the particular mix of shrub and tree species in some of Chilston’s hedges reflects both the age of the hedgerow and local management customs, contributing to local landscape character and distinctiveness. The hedges at Chilston are especially important for butterflies and moths, farmland birds, and mice. Furthermore, the Chilston hedgerows also act as a wildlife corridor for many species including reptiles and amphibians, allowing these animals to move safely between various habitats. Hedgerows also provide fruit, berries and nuts for both wildlife and people. It is recognised that hedges are important not just for biodiversity, but also for farming, landscape, cultural and archaeological reasons. Traditionally, hedgerows were used to keep animals in or out, to mark ownership boundaries and rights of way. There is also good evidence that hedgerows, and in particular hedgerow trees, were an 9 Ponds There are two ponds at Chilston which contain several amphibian species including great crested newts, common frogs and smooth newts. Consequently these ponds are important habitats identified in the Kent Local BAP. In addition to amphibians, both ponds are teaming with wildlife and could be used for supervised pond dipping. Pond dipping with nets should be conducted with care to ensure the safety of children and also to avoid disturbing or catching any amphibians (see next section). The pond closest to the railway line is less deep than the ice pond and would therefore be a better choice for this activity. Great crested newts Great crested newts are fully protected by law. This means that only licensed conservationists are permitted to handle them and it is against the law for anyone else to deliberately catch or disturb great crested newts. You should never set newt traps where they live; even shining a torch in to a pond to observe them is now considered likely to disturb normal behaviour, and so is not permitted. Great Crested Newt 10 Archaeological features 18th century Ice House As discussed in earlier sections, this site forms part of the Chilston House estate (see Map on page 13). The house (now Chilston Park Hotel) is an 18th century Grade 1 listed building and can be seen from some areas of Chilston Pines and Ponds. The Ice House and Ice Pond The Ice House and Ice Pond are locally significant especially in terms of appreciating how a large grand house functioned. 11 The ruins of the 18th century Ice House overlook the round Ice Pond and the original main driveway/entrance road to the grand Chilston House (now Chilston Park Hotel). Until 1966 the Ice House was still largely intact. However, at this time it was considered dangerous and filled in. Possibly most of the archway to the entrance is still there (stones poking through the grass) but it is likely to have been damaged when the ice house was covered in. As shown in the photograph, the Ice House was a considerable feature of the landscape and it appears that its overall setting was complemented by numerous trees which were likely to be Scots Pine. The archaeological report commissioned by HCC indicates that the landscape features of the Ice House, the pond and trees are regionally significant as many such sites have not been retained in their original context. (Chilston Old main entrance/driveway to Chilston Park Ice House, Chilston Park, Lenham, Kent, Archaeology South-East) The Ice House just before demolition The round Ice Pond has been retained Remains of the Ice House 2008 12 Map showing Chilston Park in the 1800s 13