Wimpole Park


Archaeology at Wimpole Wildlife, Flora and Fauna at Wimpole	"The counties of Cambridge and Huntingdon consist generally of flat ground and corn fields with few hedges or trees; while the few hills are yet more naked; but Wimpole abounds in beautiful shapes of ground and richly clothed with wood - it is therefore like a flower in the desert, beautiful in itself, but more beautiful by its' situation." HUMPHRY REPTON 1801 Landscape Architect for the 3rd Earl of Hardwicke	A Wimpole Walks leaflet and a Wimpole Archaeology leaflet can be purchased from the Stable Block.
Soil Survey 2004 (pdf 2212 KB)


Before the present Wimpole Hall was built c.1640, there was a moated manor house set in a small 81ha ( 200 acre) deer-park and situated to the north and south of this were three medieval villages: Bennall End, Thresham End and Green End, associated with which was the ridge and furrow system of farming. The villages were cleared and the present parkland began to develop starting with the work of Charles Bridgeman, under Lord Harley followed by Greening, Capability Brown and Humphry Repton who worked for the Earls of Hardwicke 1740 - 1895. The parkland as you see it today is an overlay of the work of these landscape designers and gardeners. Bridgeman's formal grand avenue sweeps away from the south front of the house for two and a half miles in contrast with the remainder of the park which was "naturalised" by Capability Brown. The North Park is particularly attractive with its belts of woodland, gentle rolling hills with individual and clumps of trees. The central feature of the North Park is the Gothic Tower and the restored lakes in the valley below. There are many walks at Wimpole which can be varied at will: over the lakes to the Folly; through the woodland belts to look across open farmland sweeping north towards Cambridge. Wimpole parkland abounds with wildlife nothing spectacular but enjoyable to see on the walk. Large areas of the parkland are now in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) and this means that inorganic fertilisers and pesticides will not be used, which in turn will increase the abundance of invertebrates that bats feed on. In addition other groups will benefit from the CSS, such as small mammals and many of the bird species plus a whole host of rarer invertebrates.