The Deer Park today
For centuries, deer parks were a prominent feature of the British landscape until they were either broken up and converted into agricultural land, or incorporated into post-medieval country estates. While a number of ancient deer parks survive today, such as Richmond Park or Knebworth House, Berkhamsted’s deer park was progressively turned over to farming starting in the reign of King Charles I.
Today, to the north of Berkhamsted Castle, we see a patchwork of fields and woodland, divided up among many different private landowners and crisscrossed by a network of public footpaths.
The landscape
Berkhamsted Castle Trust has been exploring ideas for enhancing the public realm around the ancient deer park. Today this area is divided into many privately owned fields, but we have been looking into possible ways to mark this historical boundary along the existing public footpaths and enhance the visitor experience in the area around the Castle.
These views show us just some of the varied uses of the land today – including agricultural land, livestock, equestrian, public footpaths, and ancient woodland: