Welcome to Friends of West Hunsbury Parks

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As well as many small green spaces and ‘pocket’ parks in West Hunsbury, we have three beautiful major Parks, namely Hunsbury Hill Country Park, Ladybridge Park and Wootton Brook Park.

Ladybridge Park is on the south side of Ladybridge Drive, near the eastern end, and includes the playing fields used by Welland Valley Football Club. The vehicular entrance to this Park has a gate which is closed every night.

Wootton Brook Park is on the north side of Ladybridge Drive, opposite Ladybridge Park, and includes Shelfleys Lake and Wootton Brook weir. There is no vehicular access to this Park.

Hunsbury Hill Country Park is on top of the Hill, just east of Camp Hill shops and across the road from St. Benedict’s Church. This Park includes the Drovers Return café, Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust (NIRT) and the jewel in our crown, the Iron Age Hillfort. The vehicular entrance to this Park also has a gate which is closed every night.

These Parks are a great asset to West Hunsbury and are there to be enjoyed by all, whether local or visiting the area.

There is a circular walk linking the Country Park with the two Ladybridge Drive parks which is marked by eye catching boards giving information relevant to the area in which the board is sited. Details of the points of interest on the circular walk are in a leaflet which can be picked up from our Information Centre at the Drovers Return café at the eastern end of the Country Park car-park opposite St. Benedict’s Church. The leaflets are also available from Hunsbury Library in Overslade Close.

The Friends of West Hunsbury Parks group was formed in 2009 when the Parks were beginning to need rather more attention than they were receiving, and the Country Park in particular was suffering from vandalism, anti social behaviour and, on some days, could have up to three burnt out cars in it. We have a core group of up to eight people, have a constitution, and rely on volunteers to come forward to help us carry out work within the Parks.

Our enthusiastic volunteers join us on our occasional Practical Work ‘Days’ (which usually only last an hour or so), when we carry out litter picks, work on planted and wildflower areas and carry out any other tasks which will aid the West Northants Council (WNC) and their contractors to maintain the Parks. More volunteers are always welcome and refreshments are usually provided. We liaise closely with our local Councillors and WNC, as well as with the Veolia/idverde team who are responsible for the everyday maintenance of the Parks.

We take part in Heritage Open Days. This is a nationwide event held annually in September, which is supported by the National Trust. For more information about HOD, visit the Heritage Open Days website.

We have previously been asked to put together presentations as part of the successful entries of the Borough Council for East Midlands in Bloom and Britain in Bloom, and have entered Northampton in Bloom as a Group twice. Check out our Certificates in the Gallery. We hope to be invited to participate in future years both as part of the wider community and as an individual group.

We are always looking for funding opportunities to provide amenities which will enhance the visitor experience in all three Parks. In the past this has helped to secure more play equipment for the Parks, picnic tables, interpretation boards and, most recently, some notice boards.

We were also fortunate to be given Heritage Lottery Funding in 2017, to protect and discover more about the Country Park’s Iron Age Hillfort, which is a Historic England Scheduled Monument. Our initial Lottery funding allowed us to develop our website, which we use primarily to inform the community of what is happening in the Parks. It also gave us the opportunity to run a number of events throughout 2018 and into 2019, and share the reports and images relating to these Lottery funded events and investigations (check out our News & Events items, and also our Gallery), as well as some of the history, particularly that of the Hillfort.

We are no longer Lottery Funded and now rely for our funding entirely on donations (including those from Northampton Lottery tickets bought through our dedicated page) and sponsorships, although we are now working with the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) on a second Lottery Bid, to enable more investigation and protection of the ancient Hillfort to be undertaken.

 

 

 

History

Hunsbury Hill is an Iron Age Hill Fort situated in Hunsbury Hill Country Park. It is probable that defences were built at Hunsbury Hill between the 7th and 4th centuries BC. The deep ditch excavated has survived to the present day. A wooden rampart was also constructed and there Is evidence that Hunsbury Hillfort’s inner ramparts were burned down and vitrified.

Ironstone extraction began at the hill fort in the 1880s, Many of the fort’s internal features were destroyed, but the work revealed up to 300 pits which, according to the curator of Northampton Museum in 1887, contained “numerous artefacts that now comprise one of the finest collections of Prehistoric antiquities in England”. The finds included iron weapons and tools, bronze brooches, pottery, glass and around 159 quern stones. All were given to the town’s museum. Hunsbury Hillfort is a designated scheduled Ancient Monument. Parts of the fort’s banks have been badly eroded because of the 19th century quarrying, the effects of burrowing animals and damage from tree roots. It is now managed as part of the Country Park by Northampton Borough Council.

Part of the railway built for the quarrying remains and is maintained by Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust. Running through the Park is part of the Banbury Lane Drovers Road used by the Welsh farmers bringing their sheep to Northampton’s Cattle Market.

Gallery

THE STORY OF WEST HUNSBURY PARKS NEW BENCHES

BEFORE (2022) ~ a couple of lovely oak trees cut down in Green Lane …..

BEFORE (2023) – Had ideas; needed money ……

The National Lottery Community Fund liked our ideas and gave us a grant which enabled us to do most of what we wanted to do.

We researched chainsaw artists and timber/logging movers and proceeded to get quotes.

DURING (May 2024)

First, Dan & Toby Brown cut the logs to ‘bench’ size, and then used Anna & Tookie, two beautiful Comtois heavy horses, to move the logs :

Peter Leadbeater had to reduce the size of the largest log to allow Anna & Tookie to move it :

DURING (June 2024)

Once the logs were moved, chainsaw artist, Peter Leadbeater, and his colleague, Alex, could get to work to sculpt the logs into artistic benches :

AFTER (June 2024)

RESULT ! Six new sculpted benches for West Hunsbury Parks :

1 – at the entrance to the Country Park :

2 – overlooking Shelfleys Lake :

3 – Wootton Brook Park picnic area :

4 – Country Park Play Area Meadow :

5 & 6 – outside the Drovers Return café :

 

 

More photos of our Heritage Open Days Viking Weekend in September with Jotunns Wrath & friends ~ these are by Paul Harris / Heritage Open Days, Sep. 2023

Jotunns Wrath & friends ~ pictures from the Living History village in Hunsbury Hill Country Park
for Heritage Open Days weekend, Sep-2023

Coronation Decorations, Country Park entrance, 30th April 2023

Coronation Decorations, Ladybridge Park, 1st – 8th May 2023

1st May

3rd May

4th May (am)

 

4th May (pm)

To Be Continued ……

5th May

Christmas seasonal display, December 2022

Heritage Open Days, 17th & 18th September 2022

The Queen’s Jubilee Beacon, lit at St. Benedict’s Church on Thursday 2nd June 2022

Country Park Entrance Decorations for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee

Queen Suzie and Grenville the Grenadier Guardsman

Our royal scarecrows for West Hunsbury Active Resident’s Facebook group Easter Scarecrow Festival, April 2022

William the Shire horse and Robert Clarke of Hartwell Shires Meet & Greet, Saturday 31st July 2021

Here’s a selection of Chris Stone’s photos of William meeting & greeting

Snowdrops, Feb-2021

Hunsbury Hill Rocks Christmas, December 2020

William the Shire horse chain-harrowing our Wild Flower Meadow, 20th September 2020

More Spring Flowers and Bluebells, 2020

Winter Photo Competition, 2019/2020

The Winner : entered by Sarah Stazy

Wood chip Work, Monday 17th February 2020

Bird Box Bonanza, Jan/Feb 2020

Spring Flowers in January 2020 ….. and February

Winter Walk 2019

The BIG Leaf Sweep 2019
(24th November : a practice run for next time when we will hopefully have some volunteers)

Northampton and East Midlands In Bloom

Bat Walk and Moth Survey, 25th September 2019

 

BloodAxe Vikings, Armée du Nord, Bifrost Guard and Warriors of the Black Bear, 14th/15th September 2019

plus pebble painting and NIRT trains

Hedge Trimming, Saturday 24th August 2019

Scavenger Hunt, Sunday 21st July 2019

Alfie Bear’s Picnic, Saturday 13th July 2019

BloodAxe Vikings with Wodens Hearth, Northland Mercenaries
and also Armée du Nord Normans, 7th April 2019

Tree Trail, March 2019

Litter Pickers 3rd March 2019

 

Friends Race Night, February 2019

Winter Walk, December 2018

Bioblitz, Bats and Moths, August/September 2018

Scavenger Hunt, August 2018

Alfie Bear’s Picnic, July 2018

Miscellaneous

 

Contact Us

Please contact us for details on how to join our group, to ask us about the Parks, or to participate in any of our exciting heritage & wildlife events using email, and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Click on the email address below and an email will open up ready for your details. A copy of the completed email will be sent to your email address when you press ‘Send’.

If booking tickets for one (or more) of our events at Parsons Meade Community Centre, please give us a telephone number as well as an email address, so that we can contact you to arrange for payment and delivery.

Thanks for getting in touch!

FriendsOWHP@gmail.com