Hewell Grange Estate - Setting of Heritage Assets Assessment

The second stage of any analysis is to assess whether the setting of a heritageasset makes a contribution to its significance and the extent of that contribution.The Asset’s physical surroundingsTopographyIn terms of the southern end of the RPG and the CA the topography is undulating to thesouth of the HAs with various high points notably to the west, and as one moveseastwards the land levels out around the Batchley Brook.Land UseThe immediate surrounding land is almost all agricultural and contributes to the ruralnature of the RPG and the CA, and the sense that this is a country estate. There are asmall number of farms and estate cottages in the vicinity and their existence underpinsthe sparsely populated rural nature of the area. The Historic Environment Assessmentdescribes the broader environment as having ‘a settlement pattern of farmsteads andstrings of wayside dwellings associated with a moderate to high level of dispersal’.To the north east of the RPG and the CA are the two prisons which have beenconstructed on what was probably originally part of the Park, and to the north west is anestate of prison officer housing. The design, size and infrastructure associated withthese buildings detracts from the rural feel of the immediate surrounding area to them. Itshould be noted that these buildings were constructed at a time when Governmentdepartments benefitted from Crown Immunity. The land they occupy is comparativelysmall compared to the extent of The AreaGreen Space, trees and vegetationThere is extensive green space, trees including woodland, and vegetation surroundingthe RPG and CA notably to the north west, south and east, which emphasises the ruralsetting of the Heritage Assets. It is not clear where the extent of either Heritage Assetsends in these particular areas. By contrast to the west is the B4096, Hewell Lane, whichacts as a physical boundary to the extent of both Heritage Assets. It also acts as abarrier to the more potentially intrusive A448, Bromsgrove to Redditch Highway.Openness, enclosure and boundariesThe landscaped areas of the Park, designed by Capability Brown and Repton, areenclosed partly by design, partly due to the topography of the area of Park closer to thehouse which can be described as forming a bowl around the mansion. Originally belts oftrees were designed to screen the estate but not be an impenetrable barrier, evidencedby Repton’s comments in his Red Book. The Southern Park, the area to the south of thelake and the Planted Hill, is very open and visible. The predominance of the naturalboundaries results in the extent of the HAs being ill defined in many areas, leaving theouter reaches of HAs integral parts of the rural landscape, and providing a naturalsetting to the Brown and Repton landscapes.History and degree of change over timeThe area surrounding the RPG has not changed significantly in nature over the time thatthe landscaped Park has developed. It has remained a rural area with clusters of farmbuildings and Estate properties. These have become more numerous as the centurieshave passed but not to the extent that they have changed the nature of the rurallandscape. The CA incorporates some of these buildings notably, Tardebigge Court andPage | 13