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Landscape record TQ 64 NW 31 - Somerhill park
Summary
C17/C18 park with C19 formal gardens Somerhill is situated immediately east of Tonbridge, on the north-east side of the A21, Tonbridge to Tunbridge Wells trunk road. The 159ha site, which comprises c 6ha of formal and ornamental gardens and 153ha of parkland, farmland, and woodland, lies on undulating ground which rises south-eastwards from the floor of a stream valley running across the north-west corner to the crest of a high ridge. There are extensive views from the upper slopes across the Medway valley 2km to the north and to farmed and wooded ridges beyond Tunbridge Wells to the west and south-west. Park paling encloses the north-west and south-west boundaries from adjacent major roads (A21 and A26), beyond which lies the developed edge of Tonbridge (to the north-west) and wooded farmland (to the south-west). Five Oak Green Road (a minor road) runs along the northern boundary, with farmland and orchards beyond, while to the south-east, the estate's farmland and woodland merge into a similar landscape
Location
Grid reference | Centred TQ 6071 4486 (2102m by 1349m) GCE |
---|---|
Map sheet | TQ64SW |
County | KENT |
District | TUNBRIDGE WELLS, KENT |
Civil Parish | CAPEL, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, KENT |
Map
Type and Period (10)
- FORMAL GARDEN (FORMAL GARDEN, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- GARDEN WALL (GARDEN WALL, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- HA HA (HA HA, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- ORNAMENTAL LAKE (ORNAMENTAL LAKE, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- TERRACE (Ornamental Terrace, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- LANDSCAPE PARK (LANDSCAPE PARK, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- LANDSCAPE PARK (LANDSCAPE PARK, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- PERGOLA (PERGOLA, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- TREE AVENUE (TREE AVENUE, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- PARK (Medieval to Unknown - 1120 AD?)
Full Description
<1> OS 1:10000 1974 (OS Card Reference). SKE48159.
<2> English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest,Part 24 Kent(May 1987) (OS Card Reference). SKE41622.
<3> Country Life (9 Sept 1922) 310-317 (OS Card Reference). SKE39371.
<4> Dr Nicola R. Bannister Alfa, 2013, Somerhill Park, Tonbridge, Kent, Historic Landscape, Parkland Plan, Evaluation Plan (Unpublished document). SKE30928.
<5> Susan Pittman, 2011, Elizabethan and Jacobean Deer Parks in Kent (Monograph). SKE32115.
Sources/Archives (5)
- <1> SKE48159 OS Card Reference: OS 1:10000 1974.
- <2>XY SKE41622 OS Card Reference: English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest,Part 24 Kent(May 1987). [Mapped feature: #2067 Park/garden, ]
- <3> SKE39371 OS Card Reference: Country Life (9 Sept 1922) 310-317.
- <4> SKE30928 Unpublished document: Dr Nicola R. Bannister Alfa. 2013. Somerhill Park, Tonbridge, Kent, Historic Landscape, Parkland Plan, Evaluation Plan.
- <5> SKE32115 Monograph: Susan Pittman. 2011. Elizabethan and Jacobean Deer Parks in Kent.
Finds (0)
Protected Status/Designation
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Events/Activities (1)
- Non-Intrusive Event: Somerhill Park, Tonbridge, Kent, Historic Landscape, Parkland Plan, Evaluation Plan (Ref: June 2013) (EKE14324)
Record last edited
Mar 19 2024 2:50PM