Unravelling Cassiobury

Anne Rowe – Hertfordshire Gardens Trust - Spring 1998

The park at Cassiobury near Watford was for centuries one of the most splendid pieces of designed landscape in Hertfordshire, comparable with those at Ashridge and Tring. Many famous names in the world of garden history have worked at Cassiobury, including Moses Cook, George London, Charles Bridgeman and Humphry Repton. Much of their work has been erased over time as the landscape was adapted to meet new fashions and social requirements. The dismemberment of the park began in 1908 and large areas disappeared under housing developments. However, Watford Council was mindful of the value of the park to its growing population and by 1912 about 30 ha had been acquired to make a People's Park and Pleasure Ground. Further areas were acquired by the Council in the 1920s and 30s, including land for the West Herts Golf Course and Whippendell Wood.

Old maps and illustrations provide a starting point for trying to unravel the sequence of events that led to the Cassiobury Park that exists today. With care (and luck!) it may be possible to assign particular trees, avenues and earthworks in the park to specific periods in its history. A site as old, large and complex as Cassiobury requires expertise in a variety of different disciplines and several members of the Research Group are combining their efforts to produce a comprehensive report on the history of the park. In the spring we shall be holding a field study day in the park and Dr Tom Williamson will introduce us to the techniques that can be used to work out the history of a designed landscape in the field.

Like Ashridge and Tring Park, Cassiobury has been placed on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest. Of the three, Cassiobury has suffered the most from the depredations of the 20th century, perhaps the penalty for being closest to London, and just 77 ha remain from the 300 ha of designed landscape which existed between the 16th and 19th centuries.

It is nonetheless a worthy subject for research: the landscape of today is a palimpsest on which all the phases of the area's development, from 16th century hunting park to 20th century boating pool, have led their impression. The successive changes to the park and gardens reflect changes in society and, even where the park has disappeared under tarmac or bricks and mortar, its influence can still be traced in the layout of the residential areas and the surrounding road system.

Such is the fascinating challenge facing the Research Group, not just at Cassiobury but at many other sites that have been identified in our latest project area: the west of Hertfordshire. A considerable amount of work has already been done on the history of nine sites, including Ashridge and Tring Parks. A team of about fifteen researchers is currently working on a further twenty historic parks and gardens, leaving about eleven still crying out for some research. Extra help would be much appreciated. If you think you might like to get involved, please give me a ring - beginners welcome!

September 15, 1999