Parkland - an important part of the Northern Ireland landscape

The demesne lands in Ireland have had a huge impact on the landscape. At one time 4% of the whole of Ireland was in parkland - an area amounting to around 300,000 ha.

The historic continuity and scale of demesne lands once owned by the great houses in Ireland preserved woodland and archaeological remains. These features were often lost in the surrounding countryside due to the rising population in pre famine Ireland and subsequent 20th century agricultural intensification.

The lands surrounding the 7000 great houses that once dominated the Irish landscape were often laid out on the grandest scale the owner could afford. They were designed to maximise the aesthetic potential of the countryside and to express the wealth, power and good taste of the owners. Consequently, as fashions and political influences changed, they were often remodelled.

Many estates have kept some imprint of the succession of style of landscape developed on the site. For example, Castlecoole, shows traces of an earlier formal landscape in the form of the "banjo lake" and a linear tree avenue. Many sites retain very old trees lost in the surrounding countryside. This means that these properties are of immense importance to wildlife - in particular invertebrates, lichens, bats and hole-nesting birds.

The earliest landscapes (prevalent between 1660 - 1740) were highly formal and reflected the autocratic religious and philosophical attitudes of their time. However by 1740 the ideas of dominance and order had given way to a new recognition of nature. The formal geometric landscapes were remodelled (with a few notable exceptions such as Antrim Castle) into what we now call parkland. This landscape is characterised by grazed areas of smooth open turf dotted, with groups of noble trees, and was usually secluded from the outside world by plantation woods or perimeter walls.

DARD's agri-environment schemes aim to protect the historic interest, aesthetic appeal and nature conservation value of our parkland. Much has been lost due to the break up of the estates and agricultural intensification.

Although the Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) Register of Historic Parks Gardens and Demesnes for Northern Ireland identifies some 147 sites covering 17,441 ha, not all of this area is parkland. In fact, only about 1,100 ha remain fully intact in the North of Ireland and loss has been ongoing.

DARD currently has over 1,700 ha of land that is, or once was, parkland under agri-environment agreement. A management plan is drawn up in association with EHS for each area of parkland under agreement. This includes a work programme to perpetuate or reinstate the former landscape, which also restricts fertiliser, pesticide and slurry applications to protect the veteran trees in the area.

In return farmers receive a payment (currently £65 per ha) on top of the £20 whole farm payment payable over the entire area designated as parkland and can apply for additional money to plant and guard new trees and to help manage old or damaged trees.

If you would like to find out more about historic landscapes, contact EHS Built Heritage or the National Trust.

If you require further information on managing parkland on your farmland, contact Countryside Management staff at your local DARD office.