East Dorset Landscape Character Assessment - Dorsetforyou.com

Handley Road. The strong contrast between the woodland edge and theopen downland is pronounced. The treescape to the west of the Parkmakes an important contribution to the setting of the village of WimborneSt. Giles.Driveway to Kingston Lacy HouseAt Wimborne St Giles the parkland is centred on St. Giles House, anationally important building dating from 1651 and belonging to theancestors of the Earl of Shaftesbury since the early fifteenth century. ThePark, which was established in the seventeenth and eighteenthcenturies, contains a number of notable natural features, architecturaland other historic artifacts.Surrounding the Park is a belt of woodland that forms an impenetrablevisual screen. The south-eastern edge to the Park, which is skirted bythe Wimborne - Cranborne Road, forms part of The Drive Plantation. Itwas probably established concurrently with other parkland features bythe 4th Earl during the eighteenth century on the lines of the 3rd Earl'slandscape ideas. The north-eastern belt forms a particularly well-definededge to the landscape that is fully appreciated from the B. 3081 SixpennyOutside edge of Eastern Drive Plantation enclosing St. Giles ParkThe nature conservation value of the area as a whole is limited as thelarger-scale arable fields offer little cover. Wildlife interest is largelyconfined to the last remains of the natural downland, the ancientwoodlands, and drove roads where hedgerows have been retained asmature features.East Dorset District Council District Landscape Character Assessment 200816