Manor Park Country Park: Difference between revisions

*The Lake - a large body of water, running the length of St.Leonards Road. Thomas Douce made many alterations to the estate during his ownership, including pushing the lake further into the Parkland away from the house and making a new road beside the lake and the old St Leonards Street became his front and back drive to the manor house. This meant a lot of landscaping works were carried out.<ref name="Manor and lake">{{cite web|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~stevemm/manor.htm|title=The Manor House, West Malling|website=Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=6 November 2018}}</ref> In the mid-1920s the lake froze over and was used for [[ice skating]]. The lake and its surrounding woodland are a haven for water wildlife, including [[Mallard duck|mallards]]s, [[Eurasian coot|coots]]s, [[Mute swan|mute swans]]s and [[Common moorhen|moorhens]]s. In summer, [[Martin (bird)Swallow|Martinmartins]]s and [[Barn swallow|swallows]]s visit the lake.

*Ice House Field - a smaller meadow (across the lake) that takes its name from the site of a former [[Ice house (building)|ice house]]. The sunken brick constructed chamber, with a concrete floor, would have been used to store ice taken from the lake in winter for use in the Manor House kitchen throughout the year. During the [[Second World War]], the field on which the ice house is situated was used as a prison camp for interned Germans. It was capped in 1963 on health and safety grounds and then concealed under an earth mound. It is No.40 on a list of 64 known ice houses in Kent, according to [[English Heritage]].<ref name=icehouse>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-507877-ice-house-north-of-the-lake-manor-park-w|title=Ice House North of the Lake, Manor Park, West Malling, Kent|website=Britishlistedbuildings.co.uk|accessdate=6 November 2018}}</ref> The meadow around it, has many meadow plants growing within it including Dog[[oxeye Daisiesdaisies]], [[buttercups]] and the (uncommon) [[Rhinanthus minor|Hayyellow Rattlerattle]]. This small plant has yellow flowers, whose ripe seeds rattle in the plant - when dry.

*Abbey Field and Chestnut Paddocks - two larger fields (to the west of the estate) used mainly for grazing cattle during various parts of the year, helping promote further wildlife and plant life diversity within the park. Chestnut Paddocks takes its name from a large group of ancient [[Sweet Chestnut|sweet chestnut]] trees growing near the middle of the field.