Lowndes Park History
The first record of the land where the park is located relates to its ownership by the Sifrewasts in the 12th Century. We know that the land was aquired by The Whichcotes in the 17th Century and that they created the main avenue running through the Lower Park (now known as the Rue de Houilles in honour of Houilles in France, with which Chesham is twinned) by planting a double row of elm trees. A mansion house, Bury Hill House, once stood in the area where the Guide Hut is now located. Investigations by the Chess Valley Archeological and Historical Society have suggested that the Rolling Pin, a mysterious bump in the landscape at the top of the park, may be connected to the Bury Hill Manor. Excavations have revealed the foundations of a small structure, which may have been a viewing tower or gazebo utilised by the manor's occupants.
William Lowndes bought the land in 1802, demolished Bury Hill House and added the land to the grounds of The Bury. It is thought that the viewing tower was demolished at the same time and that large quantities of rubbish from the demolished manor house were dumped on the site of the Rolling Pin; excavations in 2009-10 revealed a large number of empty wine and mineral water bottles, as well as broken pot and the remains of a pet cat and tortoise! The park was then let out for grazing. In 1845 the elm avenue was felled and replaced with a single row of elms. The avenue was gravelled in the 1890s.
During World War One, the park was used for training soldiers in bridge construction across Skottowes Pond.
In the 1920s, the Lower Park was let by the Lowndes family to Chesham Urban District Council as a public recreation ground. The pond was given concrete edges and the island created.
The avenue elms were felled in 1950 as they were thought to have Dutch Elm Disease. Most of the trees, however, were found to have been healthy. In 1953, the Lowndes family donated the park to the Urban District Council.
Grazing of cattle only ended in the park in 1959. During the 1970s, the pond and island were refurbished and a water staircase created. The park was dedicated a Public Open Space in 1972 and named Lowndes Park.
From the 1980s to the present day, the facilities currently found in the park were added, including the skateboard park, toilets and play equipment.
To find out more about the park's history, you can download a copy of the Lowndes Park Management Plan 2010 (PDF, 2,57 MB - please note that this large file may be slow to download), which features an accumulation of historical information about the park.