NHER 30492 (Designed Landscape record) - Anmer Park

Anmer Hall (NHER 3512) appears on Faden’s map (S3), surveyed in 1794, as a park of c.40 acres, surrounded on the south, east and west by continuous tree belts and the village street and churchyard form the north boundary. The Coldham family owned the hall between 1678 and 1896. James Coldham makes reference to gardening expenses in his diaries from 1758 to 1767, indicating that there was a garden around the Hall before the park was created. The kitchen gardens date to 1758 or earlier. In 1782 a Road Diversion Order was issued to relocate a bridleway within the western area of the park, and in 1793 a Road Closure Order terminated a lane running south from the church to the west of the Hall; the road diversion and closure orders created a private parkland.
After 1794, but before the 1824 Ordnance Survey 1st Edition 1 inch map (S4), the park expanded to the north which involved relocating most of the village to a new model village slightly north-east of the park, and isolating the church (NHER 3513) within the park, just west of the Hall. There are low earthworks which are likely to be the remains of the settlement. This probably happened after 1803 when another Road Closure Order was issued, removing the village road north of Anmer; visible today as a hollow-way among other older hollow ways (NHER 3514). On the 1824 map, the park was c.53 hectares and still retained a tree belt to the south, but the east and west sections were less continuous than previously shown on Faden’s map. The 1824 map shows a regular tree clump pattern within the park, but it is unclear whether it is a true depiction of planting.
The 1851 Tithe Award map (S6) of the estate shows the roads which had been removed by Road Closure Orders of 1782, 1793 and 1803. The church and the Hall are still visible on this map, but a series of enclosed fields has replaced the park. Most of the hedge lines of these enclosed fields can be recognised on the 1905 Ordnance Survey 6 inch map (S5) as lines of trees, and today are visible as low earthworks. This map shows more thinning of the tree belts to the north-east and north-west of the park. The south of the park had been returned to agricultural use; no trees are shown in this area and there are farm buildings linked by tracks to the road. During this period the overall size of the park had reduced to c.40 hectares.
The current layout of the park has not changed since the 1905 map. Some of the trees predate the park and are thought to be 250-300 years old, especially in the northern part of the park in the area which was once the village. Most of the trees are 150-200 years old. It is a Historic Parkland as listed on NCC Inventory of Parks, but not included in HBMC Register of Historic Parkland.
See (S3), (S4), (S5), (S6) and (S7).
E.Rose (NLA) 16 March 1994.
Updated by C. Hurst (UEA), 8 November 2011.

November 1994. Earthwork Survey.
Survey carried out by B.Cushion (NLA) primarily of village earthworks (NHER 3514) but also of earthworks in remainder of park. One sherd of glazed Grimston ware found at TF 7385 2920.
See report (S1) for further details and copy of plan (S8). The site was also included in (S9) and the survey is also noted in (S10).
B.Cushion (NLA), November 1994.