Chetwynd Park facts for kids
Chetwynd Park is a beautiful old landscape garden with lots of trees, located near Newport, Shropshire. It's a special place that has been around for a long time, offering a home to many animals and a place for fun events.
History of Chetwynd Park
The story of Chetwynd Park goes back to 1388! Back then, it was part of a big estate. The main house from that time is gone now, but the old medieval deer park still exists. Today, it's used for the Newport Show and other activities.
The deer park was probably created in the early 1700s. Later, in the 1860s, some lovely garden areas called "pleasure grounds" were added. The main house used to sit by Chetwynd Pool, which is a small lake. This lake formed in a similar way to another nearby lake called Aqualate Mere.
Nature and Wildlife
In the 1800s, Chetwynd Park was full of different kinds of trees. You could find oaks, beech trees, wych elms, horse chestnuts, and Spanish chestnuts. There were even some crab apple trees! The park was also home to 115 Père David's deer, a special type of deer.
Before 1891, Chetwynd had a huge arboretum. An arboretum is like a tree museum, with many different types of trees. Cuttings from these trees were used to plant the drive of a new church nearby.
Today, many interesting birds live around Chetwynd Pool. You might spot shovelers, wigeons, and sometimes even goosanders. Besides these wildfowl, other birds in the park include all three types of woodpecker, nuthatches, treecreepers, ravens, and buzzards.
Chetwynd Park Today
The Newport and District Agricultural Society now owns the deer park. It's famous for hosting the Newport Show every year on the second Saturday in July. Many other events also take place here throughout the year.
The society has also made the park a great place for learning. In 2013, they built a classroom called The Lodge. Because of this, many local schools and community groups, as well as students from Harper Adams University, visit the deer park to learn about nature and farming.
