2010

SP2872 : New hedge, Abbey Fields, Kenilworth

taken 14 years ago, near to Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England

New hedge, Abbey Fields, Kenilworth
New hedge, Abbey Fields, Kenilworth
A new section of hedge (behind the protective fence) planted in 2006/7 by Warwick District Council and the Friends of Abbey Fields. LinkExternal link (Archive LinkExternal link )
Viewed from the path that leads downhill from the war memorial to the swimming baths.
Abbey Fields, Kenilworth

Abbey Fields is a public open space in the heart of Kenilworth. The ground slopes steeply down from the north and south to the Finham Brook, alongside which a shallow lake has been created on the site of the abbey's original fishponds. Recreational facilities include an open air swimming pool, tennis courts and children's playground.

The Fields were the site of the Abbey of St Mary, founded around 1119 for Augustinian Canons and closed by King Henry VIII's dissolution in 1538. By 1600, most of the abbey’s buildings had been dismantled, although some parts survive today both above and below ground, including the 14th century sandstone Barn, which is now home to the town’s museum, maintained by the Kenilworth History and Archaeology Society and open on summer Sunday and Bank Holiday afternoons.

In the 19th century, the Fields formed part of the estate of the Earls of Clarendon who also owned Kenilworth Castle. The land was put up for sale in 1884, and the central part of the Fields was bought by the Kenilworth Local Board (the forerunner to the District Council). The land was conveyed with a covenant that “said pieces of land may forever hereinafter be used as public walks or pleasure grounds, under the Recreational Grounds Act 1859”. As the Board couldn’t find the finance needed for the purchase of the rest of the land, it was acquired by a few eminent townspeople who developed some of the edges for housing but gifted the rest to the town.

Today the Fields are maintained by Warwick District Council with help from The Friends of Abbey Fields. A covenant on one part of the land requires that it be kept ‘in its natural state as open grassland’, and this is generally the policy today- the Fields are not a conventional park, but a piece of countryside in the centre of the town.

Further details of the history and wildlife of the Fields can be found on the Friends of Abbey Fields website. LinkExternal link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright John Brightley and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Category: Public open space
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Abbey Fields Kenilworth [65] · Swimming Baths [6] · Path Leading [5] ·
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
+
+
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
TIP: Click the map for more Large scale mapping
Grid Square
SP2872, 461 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
John Brightley   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Friday, 16 April, 2010   (more nearby)
Submitted
Sunday, 9 May, 2010
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 2858 7207 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:20.7578N 1:34.9129W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 2858 7204
View Direction
NORTH (about 0 degrees)
Clickable map
+
NW N NE
W Go E
SW S SE
Image classification(about): Geograph
This page has been viewed about 90 times
You are not logged in login | register