| Wollaton Park | |
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 False Bridge, Wollaton Park, seen from across the southern tip of the lake. This was probably aboathouse designed to "enhance the landscape". | |
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| Location | Wollaton, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Nearest city | Nottingham |
| Coordinates | 52°56′57″N1°12′40″W / 52.949066°N 1.211007°W /52.949066; -1.211007 |
| Area | 202 hectares (500 acres) |
| Operated by | Nottingham City Council |
| Other information | Postcode: NG8 2AE |
| Website | https://wollatonhall.org.uk/ |
Wollaton Park is a 500-acre park inNottingham, England, which includes adeer park. It is centred onWollaton Hall, a classic Elizabethanprodigy house which contains theNottingham Natural History Museum, with theNottingham Industrial Museum in the stable block.
Various events including concerts are held in the park. The park has an activevolunteering programme to support the upkeep of the park, run by theFriends of Wollaton Park.
Theenclosure of Wollaton Park required the destruction of the village of Sutton Passeys.[1] It was enclosed byHenry Willoughby, 6th Baron Middleton with a 7-mile (11 km) red brick wall at the start of the nineteenth century. Originally 790 acres (3.2 km2), land sales have reduced the park to 500 acres (2.0 km2).[2]
DuringWorld War II,American troops of the508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of theUS 82nd Airborne Division, were billeted in Wollaton Park, waiting to beparachuted into Europe, which happened in June 1944. A small plaque commemorates the event. Italianprisoners of war were later billeted here for employment in the locality between 1945 and 1947.[3][4][full citation needed]
In addition toWollaton Hall the park hosts the following historic buildings:
A Grade II-listed building about 100 metres from the hall.[5]
Lenton Lodge is one of the gatehouses built around the boundary of Wollaton Park. Commissioned by Henry Willoughby, 6th Baron Middleton, it was designed by the architectJeffry Wyatville and completed in 1825.[6] It is built in the Elizabethan Revival style.
With the sale of part of the park for residential building, Lenton Lodge was separated from the rest of the park and now stands isolated but prominent on Derby Road in Lenton. It was sold byNottingham City Council in the early 1980s .
A 99-year revolving lease was acquired in 1996 by Moiz Saigara, who obtained planning permission to convert the lodge to a single dwelling and undertook major restoration work using Julian Owen Associates as the architect. The main part of this work – apart from restoration and installation of services – was filling in the middle archway in order to connect the two wings without detracting from the appearance which identifies the building as a gatehouse. Lenton Lodge was used by Moiz Saigara as his residence from 1996 to 2006, when the lease was sold to Chek Whyte.
In 2006–2008, Lenton Lodge was restored by Chek Whyte Industries and sold as a 3,324 sq ft (308.8 m2) office in 2009.[7] It was occupied by Global Fire and Security for six years, before being sold to the University of Nottingham in 2016.[citation needed]
Designed by the architectJeffry Wyatville around 1832, Beeston Lodge is built of coursedGritstoneashlar in a heavyGothic style with "martello-type" round outer towers with battlements. The square central gatehouse is connected to the towers at the second floor level. It has an arched carriage entrance with anoriel window above. It was built following theNottingham Reform riots of October 1831[8] and is now a Grade II listed building.[9]
The park is home to herds ofred deer andfallow deer.[10] Each night there is a large corvid roost at the park, made up ofrook,jackdaw, andcarrion crow. Other bird species present at the site include[11]jay,nuthatch andsparrowhawk. Migrating wildfowl grace the lake in the winter and species of note includegadwall,shoveler,wigeon andtufted duck. There is a good diversity of fungi present,[12] especially in the winter months, mainly found near the wooded areas and the lake.Northern pike have been spotted swimming in the lake.
In 2017 local news reported that a pair ofring-necked parakeets had been seen in the park.[13] These exotic birds have been breeding inLondon for several decades and spreading across the country, with sightings in Peterborough, Manchester, Liverpool, and even as far north as Edinburgh.[14] In 2018 there are at least four parakeets living wild in Wollaton Park.
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Wollaton Park is often used for major events, including:
Places of interest inNottingham | ||
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| Historic buildings |
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| Public Houses | ||
| Museums, centres and galleries | ||
| Parks and public spaces | ||
| Theatre and entertainment | ||
| Shopping | ||
| Transport | ||
| Education | ||
| Sport | ||
| Lost landmarks | ||