Brandon Country Park
TypeCountry Park
LocationBrandon, Suffolk, England
Coordinates52°26′10″N 0°37′20″E / 52.4360°N 0.6223°E / 52.4360; 0.6223
Visitors175,000 annually
OpenAll year
Websitehttp://www.brandoncountrypark.org.uk/
Edward Bliss's Mausoleum

Brandon Country Park is a country park in Brandon, Suffolk, England.[1][2][3][4]

History

In 1820 Edward Bliss bought Brandon Park house and grounds using wealth he generated from selling gun flint during the Napoleonic Wars.[5] He built a walled garden and an arboretum with exotic species including Blue Atlas Cedar, Monkey Puzzle Trees and Giant Redwoods. In the grounds he built a Gothic mausoleum using knapped flint and surrounded by Irish Yew trees. Both Bliss and his wife were laid to rest in the mausoleum but were later moved to Brandon Cemetery.[5] When the gun flint industry began to decline Bliss had his work force plant over 1 million trees, in the process creating Thetford Forest.[6]

Landmarks

Brandon Park house is Grade II listed with Historic England[7] and is a privately owned nursing home.[8]

Facilities

The facilities include a cafe, walking, cycling, forest trails and walled garden.[9] Brandon Country Park Parkrun takes place every Saturday morning, the course is through woodland and on mixed trails.[10] In 2018 there were 175,000 visitors.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Suffolk dog walks: A group outing in Brandon Country Park". 26 June 2018.
  2. ↑ murphy, rebecca (9 August 2017). "Historic engine house at Brandon Country Park officially opened after restoration works".
  3. ↑ "Easy Access Trail - Brandon Country Park - Red".
  4. ↑ "County council set to save £50,000 in costs after park sale". 13 December 2017.
  5. 1 2 "History". www.brandoncountrypark.org.uk.
  6. ↑ "History". www.brandoncountrypark.org.uk.
  7. ↑ England, Historic. "Brandon Park House, Brandon - 1277772 - Historic England". historicengland.org.uk.
  8. ↑ "Brandon Park - Stow Healthcare".
  9. ↑ "Welcome". www.brandoncountrypark.org.uk.
  10. ↑ "Course - Brandon Country Park parkrun". www.parkrun.org.uk.
  11. ↑ murphy, rebecca (15 February 2018). "Major country park sold for just £1 to new owner".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.