Stockgrove Country Park is located in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on the

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

border in the parish of Heath and Reach. Stockgrove Park's 80 acres is part of the larger 400 acre woods called Rushmere Country Park, managed by the Greensand Trust. The Greensand Trust manages this area comprising Rushmere (200 acres), Stockgrove (80 acres), Oak Wood (100 acres) and Rammamere and parts of Kings Wood. Stockgrove was opened to the public in 1972 and Rushmere is the newest addition to the Estate, opened in 2011. The largest of the lakes features the remains of a boathouse that burned down in 1963 – only its brick arches are left.

Mandarin duck The mandarin duck (''Aix galericulata'') is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. It is Sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic – the males are elaborately coloured, while the females have more subdued colours. It is a medium- ...

s took up residence in 1997 and have bred there ever since. The park is partly in the Kings and Bakers Woods and Heaths

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

Stockgrove Estate

The park was originally part of the Stockgrove Estate based at a house in the Buckinghamshire parish of

Soulbury Soulbury is a village and also a civil parishes in England, civil parish within the Buckinghamshire Council, unitary authority area of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Aylesbury Vale, about seven miles south of Central Milton Keyn ...

. Edwin Hanmer bought the Stock Grove Farm estate in 1792, and the family enlarged the estate by buying Bragenham Manor in 1852. The politician Henry Hanmer lived at Stockgrove Park. From 1928 to 1949 the estate was owned by Sir Michael Kroyer-Kielberg (1882–1958). He commissioned the architect

William Curtis Green William Curtis Green (16 July 1875 – 26 March 1960) was an English architect, designer and barrister"Quiet ceremony in Archbishop's Palace", ''The Nottingham Evening Post'', 3 August 1935, p. 8. who was based in London for much of his career ...

to design and build a new house, and re-landscaped the parkland. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the estate was used by the Army. From the 1950s the house was used as a school for children with special educational needs, run first by

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

, then by the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was the local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. From 1965 to 1986 it was an ad hoc committee of the Greater London Co ...

, and finally by the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...

until the school closed in 1994.Stockgrove Country Park
circa 1975.Community Care

24 May 2000. In 1971 the parkland was jointly purchased by the Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire County Councils. The park was opened to the public in 1972, and it was extended in 1973.

References

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External links

Bedfordshire Bat Group: Surveys: Stockgrove Country Park
Country parks in Bedfordshire Country parks in Buckinghamshire