Hedgemead Park is a Grade II Listed Heritage Park located in the World Heritage city of Bath. The Park is owned by Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NES), which maintains the park in good order for the enjoyment of the people of Bath.
Consisting of approximately 5 acres, Hedgemead Park is a secluded and well managed public open space. Sited 800m to the north of the city centre, the park came into existence in July 1889 following a series of landslips which necessitated the demolition of around 135 houses that stood on the site.
Copyright Bath & Nort East Somerset Council (www.bathintime.co.uk)
Hedgemead Park is made up of several distinct areas, each having a different character and ‘feel’ but connected to other areas by a network of tarmac paths. There are eight points of entry, two being through imposing wrought iron gates. The park is mostly laid out on sloping ground, the central zone being the only part that is nearly flat. Grassy areas predominate but, in general, the park has a very leafy feel with many large and mature broadleaf trees. Four of these are recorded as ‘County Champions’, by the Tree Register of Britain and Ireland (TROBI). A further two are of national significance and recorded as ‘Remarkable’ by TROBI.
Above all there are around 29 genera of trees growing in the park accounting for perhaps 280 individual specimens – quite a number for a modest 5-acre site!
Apart from the abundant tree cover, Hedgemead Park contains many horticultural features including:
- Bedding areas planted with ornamental and flowering shrubs
- Natural boundary areas planted with laurels
- Grassy areas planted with spring bulbs; some of these areas are left uncut for parts of the growing season to encourage invertebrates
- Various beds dedicated to native wild flower annuals and perennials
- The Friends Garden – a large round bed planted with fruit trees, soft fruit bushes and other cropping plants, interspersed with flowering perennials.
The main man-made features of Hedgemead Park (many listed by Historic England), include:
- A small Victorian Bandstand by George Smith, c.1889
- A beautiful and highly ornate Victorian ‘Macfarlane’ drinking water fountain, cast at the famous Saracen Foundry in Glasgow, c.1889
- A huge bastion wall with castellated, neo-Norman look-out tower designed by Thomas Silcock, c.1888/9
- ‘Coalbrookdale’ gate pillars, sourced from the renowned Shropshire Company, supporting wrought iron gates at The Paragon entrance, c.1888
- Ornate Victorian wrought iron gates at the Lansdown Road entrance (provenance unknown), c.1890/1
- A well-used children’s playground
Battlement & Tower image – Copyright Bath & North East Somerset Council (www.bathintime.co.uk)
