NHER 30515 (Designed Landscape record) - Letton Park

A small park already existed south of Letton Hall (NHER 2775) in 1783, depicted on a 1783 map by Isaac Lenny (S1). It was probably simply a treed pasture. The map shows it to be paled, but the west side, at least, was probably hedged (the remains of this boundary appear as a line of trees on the Tithe Award map in 1839).
In 1783 a Road Closure Order was issued which closed and redirected a road running round the north-east boundary of the later park. The plan of the Road Closure Order also shows Letton Green lying in the centre of what was to become the park. There was a further Road Closure Order in 1791 terminating a road which ran southwards, adjacent to the Hall, and building a new road further south, with a new lodge sitting on the north side of the road. The road running across the Common was closed in 1794, although there was no Road Closure Order for it. The Road Closures involved settlement removal.
By Faden’s map in 1794 (S3) the park seems complete; the central common is enclosed, and the road across it diverted and extended to form the entrance drive for the new Hall. The creation of the park involved destroying farms and cottages (NHER 2769). The ruins of Letton Church are also noted on Faden’s map (NHER 2769).
The Draught Ordnance Survey map 1814-1818 shows that the north and east belts were in place by this date, and the woodland screening of both the lodge and the kitchen garden.
The Tithe Award map of 1839 (S2) shows how the park was divided into separate areas of plantations, pastures, lawns and gardens, all well treed. The woodland area around the kitchen garden contains walks. There is a walled garden.
There is an 1882 plan (S4) for a formal garden of a geometric design which was around the Hall to the east, west and north.
By 1907 a small piece of woodland north of the park of c.9 hectares was enclosed and labelled on the 1907 6 inch Ordnance Survey map (S5) as ‘The View’. The south and east belts of trees were thinned allowing views into the park from the south boundary road.
By 1985, the park was divided and only 4 hectares were still connected to Letton Hall, and the remaining c.100 hectares are farmed.
See (S1), (S2), (S3), (S4) and (S5).
E. Rose (NAU) 22 March 1994.
Updated by C. Hurst (UEA), 14 November 2011.