The Register
The Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England was established in 1983 under the provisions of the National Heritage Act 1983 and currently has over 1,650 sites listed.
The focus of the Register is to protect historic ‘designed’ landscapes, rather than the protection of planting. The list includes gardens, grounds and other planned open spaces, such as town squares, public parks, cemeteries, although the majority began life as the designed gardens of private houses, such as those designed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown in the 18th century.
How are Landscapes added to the Register?
Historic England assesses proposed inclusions for the register against their selection guides, grouped under the following themes:
● Rural Landscapes – landscaped parks and gardens around country houses
● Urban Landscapes – Town squares, walks and public parks
● Landscapes of Remembrance – burial grounds and cemeteries
● Institutional Landscapes – the grounds of institutions like schools, universities or hospitals
The garden or landscape is assessed against nine general criteria:
● Sites formed before 1750 where at least a significant proportion of the principal features of the original layout is still in evidence.
● Sites laid out between 1750 and 1840 where enough of the layout survives to reflect the original design.
● Sites with a main phase of development post-1840 which are of special interest and relatively intact, the degree of required special interest rising as the site becomes closer in time.
● Particularly careful selection is required for sites from the period after 1945.
● Sites of less than 30 years old are normally registered only if they are of outstanding quality and under threat.
● Sites which were influential in the development of taste, whether through reputation or reference in literature.
● Sites which are early or representative examples of a style of layout or a type of site, or the work of a designer (amateur or professional) of national importance.
● Sites having an association with significant persons, for example the gardens of their house, or where a historic event took place.
● Sites with a strong group value with other heritage assets.
Legislation and Policy
The Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953, section 8C legislated that “the Commission compile a register of gardens and other land situated in England and appearing to them to be of special historic interest”.
The National Heritage Act 1983 formed the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, which was called English Heritage, and dissolved the Historic Buildings Council for England and the Ancient Monuments Board for England. In 2015, English Heritage split to form Historic England, which retained the powers of the Commission, and English Heritage, a charitable body which looked after the national heritage collection.
The Commission’s responsibility was to secure the preservation of ancient monuments and historic buildings in England, where ‘ancient monuments’ were defined as ‘any structure, work, site, garden or area which in the Commission’s opinion is of historic, architectural, traditional, artistic or archaeological interest’.
The National Planning Policy Framework 2023 states that Registered Parks and Gardens are designated heritage assets and have the same protection as listed buildings and scheduled monuments.
How does the Register affect planning?
Inclusion on the register is a ‘material consideration’ in the planning process, meaning that planning authorities must consider the impact of any proposed development on the special character of the landscape.
Since 1995, the Gardens Trust, a charity dedicated to protecting and conserving historic parks, gardens and designed landscapes, has been a statutory consultee alongside Historic England in relation to planning proposals which affect historic designed landscapes. The Gardens Trust was founded in 1966 as the Garden History Society, being renamed in 2015 after a merger with the Association of Garden Trusts. It is supported by local County Gardens Trusts throughout England which work to protect the landscapes within their own counties. The first County Garden Trust was set up in Hampshire in 1948, with 36 established by 2008.
What next?
If you are planning work either within, or in the proximity of a Registered Park and Garden, please get in touch with the Heritage Team for advice!
