Hewell Grange Estate - Setting of Heritage Assets Assessment

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constructed, cutting across it. The lower part of the drive then connected to the newtrack which led directly out to Hewell Lane, approximately half way between the WaterTower and the footpath (PROW). It is still in use today running down to the Paper MillCottages and via the castellated bridge to the kennels and associated buildings.The Southern Parkland was relatively enclosed until sometime between the 1930s and1950s.The surveyor’s draft of the first Ordnance Survey map of 1813 clearly shows abelt of trees running adjacent, on the north side, to what is now the public right of way(PROW) from Hewell Lane. This screen of trees is again present on the 1884 OrdnanceSurvey Map, although it is not so dense that it would have formed an impenetrableboundary, compared to the tree planting on the Planted Hill or immediately to the southeast of the lake. At this time much of the planting around the perimeter of the RPG wasnot particularly dense. Repton was critical of some of the perimeter planting in 1812, inhis section of the Red Book 5 on ‘The Belt’ he advises the thinning of some of these treesand states ‘in some places even these (deciduous trees) should be removed entirely toadmit views of the country beyond the pale’. The following two Ordnance Survey Mapsof 1904 and 1927 show little change to the trees on this southern boundary, the onlysignificant change is the development of the Cladshill Wood between 1884 and 1904,and between 1904 and 1927 the boundary of trees along Hewell Lane from ParkCottages to the public right of way appears. The belt of trees to the south of theSouthern Parkland disappears between 1927and the 1950s.4.4 The Lake and Lakeside landscape, comprise a large area of the RPG which includesthe core of the Repton and Brown landscape around the lake, but also the areasbordering the Area. These areas include the Claddshill Wood and the grassland areaseast and south east of the lake which became part of the Park in the 19 th century. Theycontain no individual parkland trees, and it is likely that there was only a scatteringoriginally. The southernmost fields feel separate from the ‘core parkland’ but form anattractive pastoral landscape. Although the boundary of the RPG is loosely screenedwith trees, the area is connected to the smaller fields with trees and hedgerows alongthe Batchley Brook, by the track which connects the kennels, which sit just outside theRPG at this point, with Hewell Lane via the castellated bridge at the foot of the Lake. TheRPG therefore merges into the rural setting beyond its boundary, in this area.4.5 The Planted Hill, is highly visible from The Area and beyond, due to the topographyof the Hewell Estate. It extends as far as the track from Hewell Lane to Paper Millcottages just to the west of where it splits and the eastern track heads towards theKennels. The Landscape Agency Report describes the area as ‘a rare and valuableexample of Victorian modifications, enhancing, rather than detracting, from an earlierdesigned landscape’. These specimen trees are visible from a number of points acrossThe Area and from various points along Hewell Lane as one approaches the RPG.4.6 The wider rural environment provides the rural setting to the Hewell Estate which, asnoted above, falls under the two designations, the RPG and the CA. The landsurrounding the estate is still almost all agricultural, and this rural setting contributes tothe significance of the HAs and our understanding and appreciation of them. In the widerarea there are a number of farms and estate cottages, their existence underlying thesparsely populated rural nature of the area. The Historic Environment Assessment 65 HWRO H Repton, Red Book for Hewell Grange, January 18126 Historic Environment Assessment for Bromsgrove District Council 21 st June 2010Page | 9
describes the broader environment as having ‘a settlement pattern of farmsteads andstrings of wayside dwellings associated with a moderate to high level of dispersal’.4.7 The setting of the HAs to the south has remained relatively unaltered. The land nowcomprising The Area provides a buffer between the country Estate and the urban fringeof Redditch. There are only very limited views of the centre of Redditch and the housingat Brockhill, but there are extensive views of the edge of the RPG from the Area andfrom Hewell Lane across the site. The RPG and associated rural non designatedheritage assets are clearly viewed in a rural setting.4.8 Locating development in The Area will not only alter the character of the land itselfbut due to the topography of the site and its proximity to the HAs will obscure viewsacross the site towards the HAs, and will completely alter the views out of the HAstowards the south. The rural setting will be lost, replaced by a suburban landscape.4.9 The Area currently contributes to the significance of the HAs in forming part of therural setting of the HAs. It is the buffer between them and the outskirts of Redditch.Screening new development with trees and hedgerow will not mitigate the fact that thebuffer between the HAs and the outskirts of Redditch will be foreshortened resulting inthe loss of the setting of the HAs, and therefore detracting from their significance.5.0 ENGLISH HERITAGE SETTING ASSESSMENTAs part of this assessment, the impact of any proposed development has been assessedin accordance with the methodology outlined in the EH document, ‘Setting of HeritageAssets’, (October 2011). Section 2.4 of the guidance states, ‘Setting is not a heritageasset, nor a heritage designation. Its importance lies in what it contributes to thesignificance of the Heritage Asset’. Section 2.4 further states, ‘The setting of someheritage assets may have remained relatively unaltered over a long period and closelyresemble the setting in which the asset was constructed or first used. The likelihood ofthis original setting surviving unchanged tends to decline with age and, where this is thecase, it is likely to make an important contribution to the heritage asset’s significance.’5.1 Assessing the impact of proposed development using the English HeritageGuidance Document, ‘The Setting of Heritage Assets’, October 2011The English Heritage methodology is set out in Section 4, Setting and DevelopmentManagement, of this document, and more specifically in sub-section 4.2, ‘Assessing theimplications of development proposals’.The methodology involves a 5 step approach as follows:Step 1 Identifying the assets affected and their settingsStep 2 assessing the contribution setting makes to significanceStep 3 assessing the effect of the proposed developmentStep 4 Maximising enhancement and minimising harmStep 5 making and documenting the decision and monitoring outcomesThe scope of this study is restricted to the impact of any possible development in TheArea, defined above, on the setting and significance of the HAs at Hewell Grange. Thissetting guidance is primarily for use when detailed development proposals are beingconsidered, but in this case acts as a useful guide for objectively considering possibledevelopment in The Area.Page | 10
Page 1 and 2: Bromsgrove District Council Conserv
Page 5 and 6: 9 For example, those policies relat
Page 7 and 8: 2.6 Bromsgrove District Council Loc
Page 12 and 13: Step 1 - Identifying the assets aff
Page 14 and 15: The second stage of any analysis is
Page 16 and 17: former are partially screened, with
Page 18 and 19: ‘Key views’ are the views of th
Page 20 and 21: Tack Farm, at 140m can be seen from
Page 22 and 23: RecurrenceN/AReversibilityThe devel
Page 24 and 25: PHOTOGRAPHS OF VIEWS940 View lookin
Page 26 and 27: 001 View from the boundary of the R
Page 28 and 29: 871 View from the same location loo
Page 30 and 31: 926 North westerly view across the
Page 32 and 33: 970 From the same location as 968 b
Page 34 and 35: 884 View south east of Tack Farm, l
Page 36 and 37: 892 View from west of the quarry lo
Page 38 and 39: 914 View from the centre of the sit
Page 40: Alcester RoadHewell Map 1Hewell Gra
Page 43 and 44: Appendix 1Listed Buildings within t
Page 45: We will consider reasonable request

Hewell Grange Estate - Setting of Heritage Assets Assessment

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