Information for record number MWA3740:
Combe Abbey Park

Summary Combe Abbey Park, a Park which was landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century. The Park incorporates a deer park, wood, and field system. The fishponds, of which one survives, are possibly Medieval.
What Is It?  
Type: Deer Park, Field System, Fishpond, Wood
Period: Medieval - Industrial (1066 AD - 1913 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Combe Fields
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 38 79
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Registered Park or Garden (Grade: II*)
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

 
Source Number  

1 In 1634 Baron Craven was given permission to inclose 650 acres to make a park.
2 Shirley mentions there were deer there in 1714.
3 The park is shown on Beighton's map of 1725, but its exact boundaries can first be seen on an estate from 1778. This map also shows "the Great Pool" which was probably added by Capability Brown when the gardens of Combe Abbey were re-landscaped during 1770's. During the 19th century the park was well stocked with game and fish. A later map of 1823 shows the game somewhat reduced in size and in 1850 White mentions it contained 500 acres, a 90 acre sheet of water and 200 deer. The deer park was still stocked in 1908. Capability Brown is also thought to have designed the menagerie and the dog kennels. The dog kennels were built in 'folly style' as a castle wall with battlemented parapets. They were demolished in the 19th century. The menagerie was probably a multi-purpose building, primarily a hunting lodge. One section had an octagonal shaped wing with a domed roof- presumably emulating an observatory. It still exists, though in somewhat altered form. The building is now used as a private dwelling.
11 The park now contains about 390 acres and is owned by Coventry Corporation. There are no longer any deer, but the large Pool is still well stocked with fish. Some of the parkland is farmed, but most of it is kept as an amenity area for the public. There are no traces of ridge and furrow in the grassy areas to the south-west of the main entrance to Combe Abbey.
12 As well as the Smite Brook, there were two ponds in the park, both probably earlier than the formation of the lake. One still exists, and is known as the Top Pool; it is now used for boating. The other lay downstream, and was at one time an arm of the lake, but has now been infilled. These may have been the medieval fishponds. Not a great deal of the 17th century landscape survives within the present park, partly on account of Brown's replanning, and partly as a consequence of modern destruction. Although the present main drive was the principle axis of the first park, and was part of a ride extending south for 1.5 miles from the cloister, the tree lines are not original, having been entirely replanted in c1900. The new Combe park must have approached its zenith in the early 1800s, when Brown's planting began to mature. It was not long, however, before some 28 acres at the eastern extremity of the park were parcelled into fields and turned over to agriculture, and a further 27 acres were separated as pasture. Various clay pits were dug in the park, to provide material for brick making.
13 Lovie reports that house and immediate grounds now an hotel; park owned and run by Coventry City Council as country park. Kitchen garden (Probably by Eden Nesfield) in poor state of repair. Formal gardens by Nesfield/Miller quite well maintained. park, lake, 2 lodges/drives with Formal gardens around the house. Menagerie in park.
 
Sources

Source No: 13
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Register Review Data Tables (North Warwickshire, Nuneaton & Bedworth, Rugby)
Author/originator: Lovie, Jonathan
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Story of Combe Abbey
Author/originator: Motkin
Date: 1952
Page Number: 34
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 2, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Page W (ed)
Date: 1908
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 2
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: English Deer Parks
Author/originator: Shirley E
Date: 1867
Page Number: 157
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 6, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1951
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: VI
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: History, Directory and Gazetteer of Warwickshire
Author/originator: White F
Date: 1874
Page Number: 579
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 12
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Combe Abbey: Archaeological Assessment of the Buildings, Gardens and Park
Author/originator: Rodwell W
Date: 1991
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Drawing
Title: A History of Combe Abbey
Author/originator: Moore R
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: B.Com.Mod
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Map
Title: A Survey of Combe Estate
Author/originator: Baker
Date: 1778
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: CR8/184 430
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Map
Title: A Survey of the Estates of the Earl of Craven
Author/originator:
Date: 1825
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: D34
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: Map of Warwickshire
Author/originator: Beighton
Date: 1725
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 11
Source Type: Site Visit
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Pehrson B
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: A County History of Warwickshire
Author/originator: Dugdale W
Date: 1817
Page Number: 121
Volume/Sheet:
   
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
none Registered Park or Garden Parks and gardens that are considered to be of historic importance are placed on a register. The register comprises a variety of town gardens, public parks and country estates. The main purpose of the register is to help ensure that the features and qualities that make the parks and gardens special are safeguarded if changes are being considered which could affect them.

The gardens on the register are divided into three grades in order to give some guidance about their significance, in a similar way to Listed Buildings. The majority of parks and gardens on the Register are of sufficient interest as to be designated as grade II. Some, however, are recognised as being of exceptional historic interest and are awarded a star giving them grade II* status. A small number are of international importance, and are classified as grade I.
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source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
period Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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period Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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monument POOL * A small body of water, either natural or artificial. back
monument HOTEL * A large building used for the accommodation of paying travellers and guests. back
monument CLAY PIT * A place from which clay is extracted. back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FISHPOND * A pond used for the rearing, breeding, sorting and storing of fish. back
monument KITCHEN GARDEN * A private garden established primarily for growing vegetables and herbs for domestic consumption. back
monument LODGE * A small building, often inhabited by a gatekeeper, gamekeeper or similar. Use specific type where known. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument LAKE * A large body of water surrounded by land. back
monument RIDGE AND FURROW * A series of long, raised ridges separated by ditches used to prepare the ground for arable cultivation. This was a technique, characteristic of the medieval period. back
monument DEER PARK * A large park for keeping deer. In medieval times the prime purpose was for hunting. back
monument FORMAL GARDEN * A garden of regular, linear or geometrical design, often associated with the traditional Italian, French and Dutch styles. back
monument PARK * An enclosed piece of land, generally large in area, used for hunting, the cultivation of trees, for grazing sheep and cattle or visual enjoyment. Use more specific type where known. back
monument DWELLING * Places of residence. back
monument POND * A body of still water often artificially formed for a specific purpose. Use specifc type where known. back
monument ABBEY * A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument DRIVE * A road/carriage way giving access from the main road to the house, stables. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument CLOISTER * A covered walk, walled on one side and usually arcaded on the other, surrounding or partly surrounding an open area in a monastery or similar complex of Christian buildings. back
monument CASTLE * A fortress and dwelling, usually medieval in origin, and often consisting of a keep, curtain wall and towers etc. back
monument PASTURE * A field covered with herbage for the grazing of livestock. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument FIELD SYSTEM * A group or complex of fields which appear to form a coherent whole. Use more specific type where known. back
monument WOOD * A tract of land with trees, sometimes acting as a boundary or barrier, usually smaller and less wild than a forest. back
monument KENNELS * A house or range of buildings in which dogs are kept, eg. hunting hounds. back
monument GARDEN * An enclosed piece of ground devoted to the cultivation of flowers, fruit or vegetables and/or recreational purposes. Use more specific type where known. back
monument COUNTRY PARK * An area of managed countryside designated for visitors to enjoy recreations, such as walking specified parks and trails, in a rural environment. Often provides public facilities such as parking, toilets, cafes and visitor information. back
monument RIDE * A road or way for riding on horseback within a park or estate. back
monument FOLLY * A structure, often found in 18th century landscape gardens, that demonstrates eccentricity or excess rather than practical purpose. They can take many forms - ruins, sham castles, towers, hermits' cells or grottoes. back
monument OBSERVATORY * A building containing celestial telescopes in which astronomical or meteorological phenomena may be observed. back
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back
monument HUNTING LODGE * A weekend retreat for Royal parties and others, when hunting in the Royal forests, or as a viewing station for the chase. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record