..continued

Mid 19th Century

In 1847, the Tithe Map for the Parish of Shipley was published (refer to figure 7). By this time the parkland had been extended westwards to include West Lawn, and the Pleasure Grounds to the north of the castle were certainly in place. Comparison of the Tithe Map with the Crow Survey of 1754 shows that to a large degree the grounds had been laid out to take the best advantage of the existing landscape structure, rather than creating a major new design overlay. Figures 8 and 9 show a series of watercoloured views by H.S. Symms that are contemporary with the Tithe Map. They provide a remarkable indication of the character of the landscape that this plan describes.

The new castle had been sited to take advantage of an elevated position and the views that were available from there, both of the surrounding countryside and of the hammer pond. It was orientated so that each aspect of the house provided a different view, and the effect of the serpentine form of the pond was maximised to give the illusion of a broad sweeping river rather than an artificial lake. The grand window half way up the round staircase tower was aligned so that the view from it extended down a great length of the pond, which thus maximised the visibility of open water. As this view, which was also shared with the dining room, extended north eastwards, the headwaters of the pond were hidden out of sight as the pond swept around a slight bend.

Views from the drawing room and library extended south eastwards across the water, focusing on the dramatic ruins of the original castle. In this view, the woodlands and plantations along the banks of the pond would not only have framed the ruins, but also they would have served to hide the ends of the pond, creating the illusion that the pond continued-on out of sight. At least some of these woods pre-date Nash’s design, appearing on the Crow Survey and in the Grimm water-colours.

To the south, views from the principal frontage of the Castle extended across an area of parkland to a distant horizon formed by the scarp slope of the South Downs, at the top of which the wooded Chanctonbury Ring formed a notable eye catcher.

The parkland setting of the castle, which comprised the West Lawn, the Castle Lawn and Hill House Lawn , had been formed by the removal of the hedgerows from the previously agricultural landscape. Many of the hedgerow trees would have been retained and it is probable that new trees were planted (although the tithe map does not record individual trees). Some new areas of woodland plantation were planted around the edges of the parkland, especially at the western end. It is not at all clear which drive formed the principal approach to the castle. The original drives, shown on Greenwood’s map were still in place, but these had been supplemented by an additional drive from the north, and a new approach from the West. Thus there were 5 possible routes to the castle, but curiously none of them appeared to include an entrance lodge.

The Pleasure Grounds lying to the north of the castle are the only area of the estate that seems to have been developed to a completely new design. Here the Tithe Map shows a significant area of woodland called Hog Kennel and Old Plantation Close - a name which makes reference to the small woodlands shown on the Crow and OSD plans. The plantation was laid out with an intricate network of sinuous and circuitous paths throughout, and was in all probability a form of woodland garden which surrounded and enclosed the walled kitchen gardens located immediately to the north of the castle.

Elsewhere, the layout of the estate remained largely unchanged from that shown on the Crow Survey of nearly 100 years beforehand. It is, however, worth noting that the extent of the pond at its northern end had once again been reduced.

Late 19th Century

In 1831, when his brother Walter died, Sir Charles inherited West Grinstead Park. When he died in 1862, both estates passed to his son Sir Percy (4th Bt), but he died in the same year and the estates passed to Sir Walter Wyndam Burrell (5th Bt), who held them until his death in 1886.

Sir Percy

In 1875 the 1st edition Ordnance Survey Map was published (25’’ to 1 mile), a copy of which is shown at figure 10. In contrast to the Tithe Map, OS maps accurately show the distribution of trees and woodlands. This gives a better impression of the character of the Parkland around the castle, showing the irregular arrangement of specimen trees. It also gives more information on the layout of the Pleasure Grounds, indicating that it comprised substantial areas of open glade with free-standing trees as well as areas of woodland and denser shrubbery around which the paths were routed (there was some modification of the path system from that shown of the Tithe Map).

Despite these differences in the quality of the surveying, the 1st Edition OS shows that the basic layout and structure of the estate had changed very little since 1847. Nevertheless, some of the changes are noteworthy. Firstly, the approach drive from the north had been slightly straightened, an avenue of trees had been planted alongside it and a lodge had been added at its junction with the New Road. This might indicate that the north drive had assumed greater importance than either of the others, suggesting that it had become the principal route to the Castle.

The western end of Castle Lane, the ancient east-west route passing along the south side of the parkland, had fallen out of use and become wooded over. The plan also shows that a considerable amount of siltation had occurred at the northern end of the pond, further reducing the extent of the open water.

In 1886 Sir Charles Raymond Burrell inherited the estate from his father, and became the 6th Baronet. He had married Etheldreda Loder in 1872, and it was her brother, Sir Edmund Loder, who bought the nearby estate of Leonardslee in 1889, and developed an extensive woodland garden there . It is possible, bearing in mind the family connection, that the Loders might have had a hand in the continued development of the Pleasure Grounds at Knepp, advising on changes to the layout or supplying newly introduced plants from around the world etc. However, it appears that no records exist, either at Knepp or Leonardslee which would confirm this. 

20th Century

In 1899 Sir Charles died and the estate was inherited by Sir Merrick Raymond Burrell (7th Bt), whose love of horses encouraged him to set up a stud farm at Knepp, breeding hunters. But in 1904 disaster struck and much of the south eastern part of the castle was gutted by fire. This fire destroyed the contents of a number of rooms including the majority of the estate records that had been held in the Library. Sir Merrik rebuilt the house, almost to the original design, but included an extra floor.

By the time the 3rd edition OS Map was published in 1911 (refer to figure 11), the hedgerows in the fields either side of the North Drive had been stripped out and the area had been developed as an extension of the parkland. The hedgerow trees were retained as parkland specimens and some new roundel plantations were added. The surviving estate records indicate that a new plantation called Merrick Wood, lying to the north of the woodland gardens, had been planted with oak in 1890, and it is possible that this northern extension of parkland took place contemporaneously. 

The 1911 Map also shows that the pond had continued to silt up, to such an extent that the northern end had become woodland. The map graphic also indicates that extensive swathes of reed beds had developed, especially along the eastern bank and in the eastern extension of the pond leading to Floodgates Farm. Other changes since the 1st edition include the construction of lodges at each of the remaining entrances to the Park.

In 1912, Sir Merrick sold West Grinstead Park to his friend Mr J.P. Hornung who subsequently established a racing stud, which later became part of the National Stud under the directorship of Sir Merrick’s second son, Peter Burrell. In the 1920’s Sir Merrick made over the Knepp estate to his eldest son Walter, whilst retaining the Home Farm, which was the centre of his own stud enterprise.

Sir Merrick

Figure 12 shows a pair of aerial photographs of the estate taken in 1932. The first shows a close up of the castle and the kitchen garden. The character of the Pleasure Grounds shows up very clearly in this view, comprising dense clumps of trees and shrubbery and open glades. Because the photo was taken in winter, one can see that there are a large number of specimen conifers, both in the open and throughout the woods. It is also interesting to note that to the west of the castle, the kitchen gardens and service area was screened off from view by a dense belt of evergreen shrubbery. In the distance, the avenue over North Drive forms an impressive feature, together with two young roundel plantations in the northern park.

The second view shows the impressive scale of Knepp Mill Pond in the foreground of the view towards the castle. Some large areas of reeds can be seen along the margins, especially in the eastern arm of the pond leading towards Floodgates. However, there is little evidence of any dense areas of scrub that has subsequently developed, and at the time of this photo there would have been a clear and uninterrupted view from the castle to the ruins.

In the summer of 1939 some dredging work was carried out in the pond using traction engines, but there are no records to indicate the volume of material that was removed or where it was dumped. However, photographs in the family album indicate the very considerable depth of deposits that existed. Whether this was intended to be the first of many phases of the operation is not known, but the outbreak of war prevented any further work. The lake was drained down for the duration of the war, by order of the War Office. It was thought that its enormous size and distinctive shape would assist enemy bombers navigating their way towards London. 

Recent Period

Sir Walter (8th Bt) owned the estate until his death in 1985, when the running of the estate was taken over by his grandson Charles Burrell. Under Sir Walter few changes occurred to alter the layout of the park. However, the pond has continued to silt up, to the extent that it is now some 30% of the size of the pond shown on the Crow Survey of 1754. Much of the silted up area has either been planted over or has developed as dense scrub, and the areas of reed beds have expanded.

Sir Walter

Likewise the Pleasure Grounds have become overgrown by scrub, and many of the former glades have become closed over. Little of the original path network is still passable. The area also suffered a fair degree of storm damage. Furthermore, many of the original parkland trees have been lost, and the avenue of trees alongside the north drive, which were originally elms, have been felled.