Beverley Parks

The orchard is situated at Beverley Parks, which is part of Old Hall Farm smallholding that lies within a former deer park that surrounded much of Beverley during the medieval period. The reserve comprises 4 compartments; an area of mixed broadleaf woodland; the Millennium Orchard; and 2 fields that are currently being restored to a traditional Parkland landscape.

Click here to view a map of Beverley Parks.

The site dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, when the Archbishops of York owned the manor. During medieval times, the town of Beverley was surrounded by deer park with Beverley Parks being part of it. Such parks provided the opportunity for hunting deer and game and were normally created as enclosures, usually sited away from the castle or manor.

The park at Beverley was the East Riding's largest example and was over 900 hectares in size. Sadly, much of this has been lost to farmland with the exception of Beverley Westwood and the commons of Figham and Swinemoor, they provide a current insight into the landscape value of a grazed wood-pasture.

With the historic market town of Beverley in close proximity and the 13th century Minster providing an ideal backdrop, Beverley Parks is an ideal location to restore a traditional landscape. During the 13th century, there were approximately 3,200 parks in England, covering 2 per cent of the country.

They were established for sporting interests, timber, aesthetic value and assertion of privilege with all parklands belonging to the whole upper class down to the minor gentry. Parklands provided other noneconomic benefits to locals and owners. These included firewood rights, pannage for pigs, goodwill and cohesion of local society.

The site offers opportunities for informal recreation activities including bird watching, picnics, education and walking.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council Countryside Access Team are striving to recreate traditional parkland landscape that would have been present 500 years ago.