Sheringham Park is a landscape park and gardens near the town of

Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is a seaside town and civil parish in the county of Norfolk, England.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban District ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The park surrounds Sheringham Hall, lying mostly to its south. The freehold of the hall is owned by the National Trust and is privately leased on a long leasehold. Visitors to this historic building must contact the leaseholder directly for an appointment. The plantations of Sheringham Park are in the care of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

and open to visitors. National Trust members and guests have no rights of access across the park and farmland surrounding Sheringham Hall. Access to these areas is solely at the discretion of George Youngs (Farms) Ltd which farms the Sheringham estate, as laid out in the 1953 agreement between that farming company and the then freeholder. Access to the plantations of Sheringham Park has become an important aspect to locals of Sheringham and visitors alike and reference to this can be found in the Domesday Book, page 56. The park was designed by

Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great designer of the classic phase of the English landscape garden, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown. His style is thought of as the precursor of the more intric ...

(1752–1818) who presented his proposals in July 1812 in the form of one of his Red Books. He described Sheringham as his "favourite and darling child in Norfolk". Abbot and Charlotte Upcher bought the estate in 1811, and successive generations of the Upcher family did much to develop the estate, the hall and the park, as well as building a

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

. There are fine mature

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

s and a large variety of

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

s and

azalea Azaleas ( ) are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Rhododendron sect. Tsutsusi, Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate ...

s. In the early 20th century, Henry Morris Upcher obtained rhododendron seeds of various types from

plantsman A plantsman is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable gardener (amateur or professional), nurseryman or nurserywoman. "Plantsman" can refer to a male or female person, though the terms plantswoman, or even plantsperson, are sometimes used. The word is ...

Ernest "Chinese" Wilson. Plants from this source which can found at the garden include ''Rhododendron ambiguum'', ''calophytum'' and ''decorum'', among others.Zealand. K. ''

–Sheringham Park guide'' (1998) Retrieved 25 November 2008 Many other species of tree and shrub are represented in the garden, including fifteen kinds of

magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

, large specimen pieris. Among the other trees are

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

s, acers,

styrax ''Styrax'' (common names storax or snowbell) is a genus of about 130 species of large shrubs or small trees in the family Styracaceae, mostly native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the majority in eastern ...

eucryphia ''Eucryphia'' is a small genus of trees and large shrubs native to the south temperate regions of South America and coastal eastern Australia, mainly Tasmania. Sometimes placed in a family of their own, the Eucryphiaceae, they are placed by more ...

, pocket handkerchief tree

davidia involucrata ''Davidia involucrata'', the dove tree, ghost tree, handkerchief tree, pocket handkerchief tree, or is a medium-sized deciduous tree in the family Nyssaceae. It is the only living species in the genus ''Davidia''. It was previously included wi ...

and a fine example of the snowdrop tree. Several overlook towers provide good views over the plantations, and of the nearby coast and surrounding countryside. A garden

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

was constructed in the park in 1975 to the designs of James Fletcher-Watson.

Location

Sheringham Park is located 2 miles south west of the coastal town of

, 5 miles west of

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the North Norfolk district of the county of Norfolk, England. It is north of Norwich, northwest of North Walsham and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local ...

and 6 miles east of Holt. The main entrance is at the junction of the A148 Cromer to Holt road and the

B1157 road B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme In Great Britain, there is a numbering scheme used to Categorization, classify and identify all roads. Ea ...

Upper Sheringham Upper Sheringham is a village and a civil parish in the England, English county of Norfolk. The village is north-north-west of Norwich, west of Cromer and north-north-east of London. The village is from the town of Sheringham. The nearest ...

. The Norfolk Coast Path passes through the property. A car park, cafe and visitor centre are near the main entrance.

Waymarked Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaz ...

paths through the estate link the gardens and visitors centre to the coast, and to the Weybourne station on the

North Norfolk Railway The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage railway, heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt, Norfolk, Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned ...

, a preserved steam railway. Pedestrian access to the park is from the village of

, which is adjacent to the park.

Visitor centre

The visitor centre is located within Wood Farm Barn at the southern end of the park, the barn also houses an exhibition of the history and the wildlife of Sheringham Park. Together with a reception desk and information kiosk. From the reception there are hearing loops available. Wheelchairs and powered mobility vehicles available at no charge although it is necessary to take a small test before use. The refreshment kiosk is also at Wood Farm Barn. The exhibition area explores the life and work of the landscape architect

and also of the Upcher family who owned the park. There are several examples of Humphry Repton's red book of plans for the designs of the park. Part of the exhibition area has an area dedicated to the wildlife and nature of the park with identification games and interactive displays.

Volunteers

The park has a group of regular volunteers who help the garden staff with their duties. Under the guidance of the head gardener they undertake tasks such as

pruning Pruning is the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. It is practiced in horticulture (especially fruit tree pruning), arboriculture, and silviculture. The practice entails the targeted removal of di ...

trees and other tasks, and generally keeping the park in a condition fit for visitors.

Gallery

Image:Sheringham Park 1.JPG, The

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

gardens. Image:Sheringham Park 2.JPG, View from one of the overlook towers. Image:Sheringham Park 3.JPG, Treescape in the gardens Image:Rhododendron Y1.jpg, Rhododendron in full bloom. May 2018

Sheringham Hall

The

Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed building is finished in grey,

gault The Gault Formation is a geological formation of stiff blue clay deposited in a calm, fairly deep-water marine environment during the Lower Cretaceous Period (Upper and Middle Albian). It is well exposed in the coastal cliffs at Copt Point in Fo ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

brick was designed and built by Humphry Repton and his architect son,

John Adey Repton John Adey Repton (1775–1860) was an English architect. Biography John Repton was the son of Humphry Repton, born at Norwich, Norfolk on 29 March 1775, and educated at Aylsham grammar school and later in a Norwich architect's office. From 1796 ...

. Due to the Norfolk coast's glacial winds, Repton chose a south facing site in the

lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

of a wooded hillside. In July 1813 the Upcher family laid the foundation stone and the family hoped to move into the house in the summer of 1817, but the owner of the estate Abbot Upcher fell ill and died in 1819 at the age of 35. The hall remained empty for 20 years until Henry Ramey Upcher completed the house in 1839. The hall's lease was offered for sale in 2008 and the lease was further extended at that time.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Sheringham Park
Sheringham Park information at the National Trust

Eco-friendly visitor centre

Eastern Daily Press article