NHER 33474 (Designed Landscape record) - St George's Park

St George's Park.
(S1) lists as grade two star (regional importance).
Formerly known as Chapel Denes. Large house occupied present east end of park and was approached by Crown Road. This was divided into two at some date after 1824 and before 1829 to 1855. The gardens were taken into the park in the present century. At the north centre of the present park a road island between the drive and the approach to a windmill (see NHER 15678) was taken into the park when the road was diverted. The western area was laid out as an open park between 1829 and 1855; most of present planting done before 1870. Railings did not appear until after 1889 and before 1905; they were replaced after World War Two. Large World War One and smaller World War Two memorials to west. Some elms remain from 1867.
See (S1) for details.
E. Rose (NLA), 27 February 1998.

August 2005. Norfolk NMP.
World War Two installations, including two large air raid shelters and a barrage balloon site, are visible in St George’s Park (described above) as earthworks and structures on aerial photographs (S2), (S3), (S4), (S5) and (S6). These are predominantly visible around TG 5275 0745. Both air raid shelters are visible on photographs taken in 1941 (S2). They appear to have consisted of roughly rectilinear earthwork mounds which presumably covered a solid, semi-sunken substructure. Each had at least two entrances. The entrances to the southernmost shelter appear to be revetted while small structures or concrete pads visible at the corners of its roof probably mark the location of ventilation shafts. The plan of the northern shelter is partially obscured by trees and shadow. The shelters' size and location in a public park indicates that they were probably both communal public shelters.

The barrage balloon is first visible on photographs taken in March 1944 (S3); the balloon itself was removed by July of that year (S4). The arrangement of tethering blocks consisted of a central polygonal platform surrounded by a circle of smaller blocks. A further two peripheral blocks can also be seen. These fixings had been removed by August 1945 (S5).

To the west (at TG 5265 0746) two small huts are visible. These are first visible on photographs taken in 1944 and probably had a wartime function, perhaps as ancillary surface air raid shelters or domestic structures associated with the barrage balloon site. They survived, however, until at least April 1947 (S6), by which time the large air raid shelters had been levelled and virtually all traces of the balloon site removed. An alternative interpretation, therefore, is that they might be non military structures associated with the park, such as public lavatories or kiosks. They were removed, however, by 1948 (S7) and (S8) and a military or civil defence function seems more likely.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 2 August 2005.

Proposals for restoration (S1) in file.
E. Rose (NLA), 6 August 2007.