Landscape record 0434003000 - The Vache

The park is thought to date from William I when the Vache family held the manor from William. The park is also recorded on Saxton's map of 1574 and Speed's map of 1616 which was the last reference to the medieval hunting park. Thereafter, a landscaped park of a different nature was created. The gardens contain a ha ha to the south side, many unusual specimen trees and a memorial was erected in 1780 to Captain Cook. In the late 19th century it was used as a pheasant shoot (B6).
Precise date of park is unknown but is described by Shirley as the site of an ancient park of the La Vache family (who flourished from the C12 onwards). It is shown on Saxton's map of 1574 and Speed's map of 1610 (B5).
During the Second World War American soldiers occupied Nissen huts erected on both sides of Vache Drive, and in 1946, after their departure, the encampment was taken over by some 200 homeless people in the country's first mass squat. They stayed for several years until sufficient council houses were available (B7).