- Hatch Park
Infobox SSSI
name=Hatch Park
aos=Kent
interest=Biological
gridref=TR063410
area=71.8Hectares (177.4acre s)
notifydate=1968http://www.natureonthemap.org.uk/map.aspx?
]
Hatch Park is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) nearMersham andBrabourne , five miles (8 km) from Ashford inKent ,England (gbmapping|TR063410).The site is of special interest for its unimproved
acidic grassland , a scarcehabitat in Kent, with its ancient pollardedwoodland s, supporting the richestepiphytic lichen community in the county. The grassland is the remnant of a formerly much more extensivedeer park, and the turf here is believed to have remained unbroken for the last 500 years. [ [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003805.pdf SSSI citation] ] The deerpark still exists but on a smaller scale, including some artificialpond s andmarsh y areas.Hatch Park is overlooked by the distinctive 1762 built
Robert Adam Knatchbull family seat ‘Mersham-le-Hatch ’ frequently shortened ‘Mersham Hatch ’ which leased fromLord Brabourne to Leila Rendel’sThe Caldecott Community from 1945 has c.2004 passed into other private ownership. This understated large winged-house;Robert Adam ’s only complete build; inKent ish redbrick layered by diligent Georgian artisan trowel has mortar slithered as fine as sugared-cream between the tiers of ‘a delicate, sweetCharlotte cake ’ of its mannered day. Leila Rendel’s Caldecott children frequently galloped through Hatch Park of a summer Saturday afternoon dislodging cinnabars from short spiky ragwort against which loose reined pony hooves drummed upon spongey close-cropped sandy rabbit and deer nibbled swards bounded by expansive brackened shards sliced through with delinieated pathways.References
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