The picture above is of the front cover of Susan Lasdun’s standard text, published 1991 and reproduces part of a painting by William Hannan, c. 1745, ‘West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire’. The picture, if true to the time, shows some features of a typical ‘landscaped’ private park of the time; a lake (a model boat sailing on it), planted coppice to ‘break-up’ the standard edge of the lake, an Oriental looking footbridge, herd of deer, random (apparently) planting on the grazed hillside and the parish church on the hill-top (original position?).
Apparently St. Lawrence’s church is on its original site although the nave and chancel were redesigned in neo-Classical style and the tower completely re-built in the early days of the Georgian hall and park. Its visibility on the Chiltern hill would have dictated the orientation of the hall (the hall and park are now in the care of English Heritage and attract many visitors especially so as I is relatively close to west London).
Of course West Wycombe park was not a public park, not initially although it now is when open. Parks, of one form or another, have a long and interesting history, public parks, that is parks open to the general public, are a relatively late variety of ‘park’.
Classical historians reference some mention of private hunting parks across the Tigris-Euphrates valley during the times of the Assyrian monarchy and later in the walled gardens and parks of Persia (Iran).
(To be continued).